Dr. Astro - I thought you would have know this. The declination of Polaris for the equinox J2000.0 (i.e. the beginning of the year 2000) was +89° 158242; 518243;. Precession is causing the pole to move closer to Polaris and its declination is now +89° 18', which makes it 42' (0.7°) from the north celestial pole. It will continue to get closer to the pole until the end of the century, when it will be 0.5° away. Your location on the Earth only affects the altitude of the pole and Polaris above the horizon and not the separation of Polaris from the pole. The pole would appear 32° above the horizon from your latitude (i.e. it is the same value as your latitude). So you can complete your tests, but this is normal.