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Actually, the stars are moving, as is everything else in the universe. It's just that the distances are so vast from our perspective (viewing point) that any movement is virtually undetectable.

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17y ago
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12y ago

I don't think so. A constellation is defined as the region between certain coordinates in the sky (declination and right ascension - equivalent to latitude and longitude on Earth). These coordinates move, in the sense that the entire reference system moves compared to the background stars, due to the precession of Earth's axis. However, I read that the coordinates for the year 1875 are used; it seems they have not been adjusted.

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13y ago

All of the stars move; every one has its own "proper motion". However, the proper motion of even the fastest and closest star isn't enough to be noticeable over several human lifetimes.

Perhaps you are referring to a star that does not APPEAR TO move? One star, Polaris, is so nearly directly above the north pole of the Earth that it seems to stay in one spot in the sky, while all the other stars appear to wheel around it. But if you point your camera at Polaris and take a long time-exposure, you will see that even Polaris "moves"; it isn't EXACTLY above the north pole, and appears to make very tiny circles in the night sky.

In fact, Polaris is about 0.6 degrees away from being exactly above the north pole.

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13y ago

Most of the stars in the night sky that can be seen with the naked eye are in fact not moving very much relative to us and to other stars in the Milky Way. The stars we see are within the Milky Way itself. The galaxy is turning relative to other galaxies, but we are turning along with the other objects in the galaxy. There may be a small amount of movement of those visible stars but it is not enough to be noticeable to us earth-bound observers.

The movement that you hear and learn about, the movement of galaxies away from us at great speeds, involve galaxies and not individual observable stars. And there are very few galaxies that are at all visible from earth.

You may be using the term 'star' the way it was used in ancient times, thinking of planets as moving stars, and the distant stars as 'fixed'.

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While all of the stars - and the Sun itself, for that matter - are moving fairly rapidly through the galaxy, you would need to live a dozen lifetimes or more to actually notice any movement. The stars are too far away! When we talk about "apparent movement", we are generally talking about the rotation of the Earth. With us standing on the Earth like a child riding a carousel, we see the stars all moving along together - when it is US doing the moving.

From that perspective, the only "unmoving star" is the north pole star, Polaris. It appears to be fixed in the sky, because of the useful - but ENTIRELY coincidental! - alignment of the Earth's axis of rotation and the star.

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14y ago
no stars move.its the earth spinning that makes it look like they more. the north star is directly abouve us so it doenst appear to move.
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13y ago

Because Earth is travelling through space at great speeds.

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12y ago

because its almost directly in-line with the north pole

it is situated in the direction of earth's axis

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10y ago

They don't. It is Earth that rotates; as a result, stars (and groups of stars) seem to change direction in the sky.

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12y ago

They don't. Earth does.

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Q: Why do stars in constellations not move?
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Related questions

Why do stars and constellation appear to move in the night sky?

Stars and constellations appear to move in the night sky because the Earth is rotating, while the stars and constellations stay there.


Why will the shapes of constellations be different in the future?

Stars move.


What way does Hercules move across the sky?

All stars (and constellations) move from east to west, due to Earth's rotation (which is from west to east).All stars (and constellations) move from east to west, due to Earth's rotation (which is from west to east).All stars (and constellations) move from east to west, due to Earth's rotation (which is from west to east).All stars (and constellations) move from east to west, due to Earth's rotation (which is from west to east).


Why do stars in constellations move?

All of the stars in the Milky Way Galaxy are moving... however, we, in our lifetime, will never notice the constellations changing.


Are all-stars constellations?

Constellations are patterns of stars, so stars cannot be constellations.


Why are stars constellations?

Constellations are not stars. Groups of stars that look like they form various objects or shapes are called constellations.


Patterns of stars are called what?

Patterns of stars are called constellations.


What causes the daily motion of the sun constellations and stars in the sky?

The sun doesn't actually move the earth moves so does the constellations and the stars. We see them move because the solar system spins on an axis just like earth but the earth moves much faster. So we see things move but at a very slow pace all day. The constellations and stars in the sky seem to move because just like all planets they move with the solar system.


Why do Constellations seem to move in the sky each night because?

Because the stars do not move, but on the other hand, the Earth does. Therefore, sometimes you will not see the same constellations in the same place every night.


Are constellations made up of stars?

yes constellations are made up of stars!!!!!


Are constellations made up of light rays from the stars?

No, constellations are imaginary patterns of stars.


Do constellations ever fade?

No - they are made up of stars. As long as the stars are there, the constellations will be there too.