<HTML>Bent wrote:
> Are you and Frank saying there has been 7* of real
> motion in Sirius since 10450 B.C.
According to the Hipparcos data:
The proper motion component in declination of Sirius is -1.223 arcsec/yr. This corresponds to 4.25 deg over the period in question. The proper motion of Saiph is approximately one thousandth of this, i.e. it would have moved about 15 arcsec (half the apparent polar diameter of Jupiter) over the period in question. Both appear to move in the same sense in in dec, so their separation in declination will have increased by a tad over 4 degrees.
4 degrees is non-trivial where horizon visibility of bright stars is concerned.</HTML>
