The needle of a compass can point to any star you'd like it to. Just flip and turn the compass and the needle will be in different directions, poinling to different stars. But a compass isn't anything to do with stars. Tatyana Martynova
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/The_compass_needle_always_poi...
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It doesn't. The compass needle is a small magnet, the Earth is a big magnet and the magnetic north pole is pretty close to the geographic north pole. The compass needle aligns itself with the Earth's magnetic field, which tells you approxim...
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_does_a_compass_needle_alw...
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Compass - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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A compass is a navigational instrument for determining direction relative to the Earth's magnetic poles. It consists of a magnetized pointer (usually marked on the North end) free to align itself wi...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compass
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Magnetic declination - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The magnetic declination (usually refers to the true-magnetic angle but may specify grid magnetic angle in military circles) at any point on the Earth is the angle between the local magnetic field...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_declination
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In the 12th century, seamen in China and Europe discovered that a piece of lodestone (magnetic ore), when floated on a stick in water, aligns itself so that it points in the direction of the North Star. The deflection of a compass needle due to local magnetic influences is called deviation.
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www.blurtit.com/q488332.html
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Now let's turn and face northeast. The compass needle doesn't move, it always points north, and now it's located half-way between the N and the E (northeast) on ... The star indicates true north (toward the top of virtually all maps) and the MN indicates the direction to the north magnetic pole from the center of the map.
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earthsci.org/education/fieldsk/compass/compass.html
earthsci.org/education/fieldsk/compass/compass.html
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The Big Dipper has long attracted men, because the 2 stars forming the edge of the dipper always point to the North Star, a bright star ... If the compass has a movable-course arrow, set it so that it points in the direction you are to travel. Thus when you turn your compass so that the needle points north on the compass dial,
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www.shelterpub.com/_shelter/lost.html
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The North Magnetic Pole is the point on the Northern Hemisphere of the Earth toward which a compass' needle always points; at the North Magnetic Pole, a compass' needle will stand vertically. It is now located near in northern ... ; The north star is a star that is located almost due north and is useful for navigation.
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www.enchantedlearning.com/explorers/glossary.shtm
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Sailors depended on the compass and their knowledge of the stars to pinpoint locations. Until the compass, a device with a magnetic needle that always points north, was perfected in the late 15th century, With a jackstaff, sailors could measure the Pole Star's distance from the horizon and find their position at sea.
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ab.mec.edu/jamestown/gljnt.html
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