Royal Pole Star

While the star Polaris marks the north celestial pole today, that won't always be the case. Over the next 26,000 years or so, the pole will loop around the northern sky, passing several bright stars. One of these is Alderamin, the leading light of the constellation Cepheus the king, which will mark the pole around the year 7500. It won't be as close to the celestial pole as Polaris, as this chart illustrates, but it will be the closest bright star to the pole for centuries. [Damond Benningfield/Stellarium]