Does Polaris always point north?

No, it is different from the western astronomical system centered on ecliptic coordinates. In ancient China, an astronomical system centered on equatorial coordinates was developed. In this system, Polaris is located in the north of the celestial sphere, which undoubtedly has a unique position. In ancient China, it was often used as a symbol of the emperor. However, due to the periodic slow swing of the earth's rotation axis, Alpha in Ursa minor has not been the North Star since ancient times. Therefore, the position of the sky indicated by the north pole of the earth's rotation axis is also changing, and the "throne" of Polaris may also take turns to sit in the village. The sky pointed to by the north pole of the earth's rotation axis moves at the speed of 15 arc seconds per year. Four thousand eight hundred years ago, Polaris was not the alpha star of Ursa minor, but the alpha star of Draco, which was called the right pivot in ancient China. By the year 1000, that is, the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty in China, the sky pointed by the North Pole of the earth was still 6 degrees away from the current Polaris Alpha Ursa major. It can be seen that it was far from Polaris. At present, the north pole of the earth's rotation axis points to the sky, and the angular distance from Alpha Ursa minor is only about 1 degree. By AD 2 100, the angular distance between the sky indicated by the north pole of the earth's rotation axis and the alpha star Ursa minor was the smallest, only about 28 minutes. In the future, the sky pointing to the north pole of the earth's rotation axis will gradually move away from Ursa minor. By about 4000 AD, Cepheus Gamma will become the North Star. By 14000, Vega, the alpha star of Lyra, will gain the reputation of Polaris. The time for the earth's rotation axis to swing like this is about 26,000 years. This shows that everything is in motion, stillness is only temporary and relative, and the change of motion is eternal. Moreover, after the year 2000, about 13200, the north celestial pole will once again point to α Ursa minor.