As David Turner, an astronomer at St. Mary's University in Halifax, Canada who didn't work on the new study points out, "There are many mysteries about Polaris that defy simple explanation. I think I will sit on the fence in this case and await further observational results."
加拿大哈利法克斯聖瑪麗大學的天文學家大衛•特納（David Turner）沒有參與這項新研究，他指出：「北極星身上還有很多謎團，難以用三言兩語解釋清楚。因此，我保持中立，等待進一步觀測結果。」
And we may have to keep that fence warm a little longer, as we still struggle to understand the enigmatic star.
而這種情況可能還會持續一段時間，因為我們仍在努力了解這顆神秘的星球。
In the meantime, here are a few astonishing things we know for sure about our brilliant friend:
與此同時，我們已經確定，了不起的北極星身上存在著一些驚人之處。
Starlight, star not-so-bright...
不那麼明亮的星光
Polaris isn't as brilliant as its reputation would suggest. It actually ranks 50th among bright and shiny celestial objects. Even Betelgeuse, which is dimming rapidly, still holds down the #21 spot. And if you really want bright, look to the top "dog." That would, literally, be the "Dog Star" Sirius.
北極星並不像傳說中那麼明亮，它的天體亮度排在第50位，就連迅速暗淡的參宿四都穩居第21位。如果真想看明亮的天體，就看看亮度最高的「犬星」吧，也就是「天狼星」。
But it still blinds scientists.
北極星在科學家眼裡還是個謎
No, it doesn't exactly take center stage, as it dances among the stars. But Polaris is actually incredibly bright — so bright that it makes studying it very difficult. As Neilson points out in Live Science, the discrepancy in measurements may suggest that one model is flat-out wrong. And that may be because the North Star not only eludes many a telescope's field of view — being above the North Pole and all. It also overwhelms the equipment designed to study the properties of stars. As seen through a telescope, it's basically celestial liquid paper.
北極星與群星相比，並非舞臺上最耀眼的那顆星。但它其實非常明亮——明亮到嚴重幹擾到了研究。尼爾森在《生活科學》中指出，測量結果之所以存在明顯差異，可能是因為其中一種模型完全錯誤，也可能是因為北極星在北極上空，不僅避開了眾多望遠鏡的觀測，還打敗了專門研究恆星特性的設備。用望遠鏡觀測北極星，只能看到一張液態天體平面圖。
Polaris has an older friend.
北極星有位老朋友
It may seem like a solitary gleam from some deep, dark pocket of space, but Polaris is hardly alone. Look closely at the star, even from Earth, and you may make out its companion, a much dimmer bulb with an appropriately dimmer name: Polaris B. That little bauble twirls around
北極星看上去像是在深邃黑暗的空間裡靜靜發光，但它並不孤單。如果仔細觀察，即便在地球上也能看到它的夥伴——它看起來暗淡得多，名字也平平無奇：北極星B。這顆小星體一直繞著北極星打轉。
"Polaris is what we call an astrometric binary," Neilson notes, "which means you can actually see its companion going around it, sort of like a circle being drawn around Polaris. And that takes about 26 years."
尼爾森指出：「北極星就是我們說的天測雙星，也就是說你可以看到北極星的夥伴在它周圍遊走，像是在繞著它畫圈，一圈畫完要大約26年。」
Even stranger? According to the new study, that friend is older than the main star it orbits. The researchers suggest this strange arrangement may be the result of another star smashing into Polaris — which may have drawn in extra material and given both stars a new lease on life.
還有更奇怪的呢！據該研究發現，北極星的朋友雖然繞著它打轉，但年齡卻比北極星要大。研究人員認為這種奇怪的現象可能是由於另一顆恆星撞上了北極星，導致北極星吸收了額外的物質，讓兩顆星體開啟新生。
It didn't always hold down a gig as the North Star
北極星並非一直是「指北星」
While Polaris is certainly older than our planet, it only recently started its job as a signpost to the North.
北極星年紀肯定比地球大，但它成為指北星的時間並不長。
A phenomenon known as "recession" means stars are constantly changing their position relative to us.
所謂的「衰退」現象就是說恆星與我們的相對位置在不斷變化。
So, back in 3,000 BC, a star called Thuban held the job. There's a good chance it even helped ancient builders nail those perfect angles on the Egyptian pyramids.
早在公元前3000年，一顆叫右樞的恆星就擔任著指北星的工作。古代建築者很可能就是靠它打造出了埃及金字塔的完美角度。
At the time. Polaris was still pretty close to the North Pole — possibly even interning for the job. But Thuban didn't move on to other opportunities until around the 6th century.
當時北極星已經離北極點很近了——大概是在演習指北星的工作。但直到6世紀，右樞才轉向其他崗位，讓北極星接班。