NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
From: Bill G
Date: 2013 Jul 29, 19:16 -0700
I have seen polaris in mid-day in Vermont (45 degrees north) using a 4" telescope and a polarizer in my eyepiece. The north (and south) sky is significantly polarized, so the polarizer can darken the sky and increase contrast with polaris. Due to the optical properties of punctate objects, the star will brighten with increasing magnification, until your instrument's exit pupil shrinks to about 1.5mm. If you have a large, well aligned telescope, this can mean magnification >100x. and a brighter polaris. (Aperture/magnification = exit pupil)
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