(NCP): projection of the Earth's north pole onto the sky. The NCP altitude = the observer's northern latitude.
Point on the celestial sphere directly above the Earth's north pole.
A direction determined by the projection of the Earth's North Pole onto the celestial sphere. It corresponds to a declination of +90 degrees. The North Star, Polaris, sits roughly at the NCP.
From any place in the Northern Hemisphere, there is a point in the northern sky around which the stars appear to rotate. It is currently near Polaris, the Pole Star. There is an equivalent point in the southern hemisphere, although there is no significantly bright star to mark it.