True north

True north is a special direction that points right to the Earth's North Pole. Imagine an invisible line that goes from the top of the Earth down to its center – that's where true north points!

People use true north to help them find their way, especially when they are traveling far places. It's different from where a compass points, which is called magnetic north. Magnetic north moves a little over time because of the Earth's changing magnetic field.

On maps, true north might look a bit different from what we call grid north, which is the way the lines on the map go. But if we look at a round ball showing the whole Earth, like a globe, the lines that go up and down, called longitude, always point to the true north and south poles.

One fun way to find true north is by looking up at the night sky! A bright star called Polaris, or the North Star, stays close to the north point in the sky. Long ago, people used other stars like Thuban to help them find their way, too!