Polar Alignment At the left we see the 26,000. year Precessional Path taken by the North Celestial Pole.  Note how our current Pole Star, Polaris, does not fall on the faint yellow circular path. The current location of the North Celestial Pole is situated 44' along the bright yellow line from Polaris to Kochab in the Constellation Ursa Minor (Little Dipper) as seen by puting your mouse cursor over here  It is at this point we must aim the Polar Axis of our equatorial mount. 44' is only 1' shy of the 45' subtended by 1½ lunar diameters. This is where a good Alignment Scope with an illuminated reticle comes in very handy in marking off the correct distance from Polaris along this imaginary line.   Put your mouse over here to zoom in on the North Celestial Pole. When your equatorial mount's Polar Axis points to this spot in the sky, the telescope can follow any star as the star moves around its circumference centered about this same spot.