Proper Motion of the Sirius System
This animation illustrates the actual motion on the celesial sphere of the Sirius binary
system for the period 1900 - 1990. This motion consists of two parts: the general drift of
the center of mass for the system across the celestial sphere, plus the motion of the two
stars around the center of mass. The motion corresponding to parallax shift, which
superposes an additional wobble with a period of one year, has been subtracted out.
Usage:
Click "Play" to begin. You may stop the motion at any time with "Stop".
"Step" moves forward one step and "Back" moves backwards one step.
"Home" returns to the beginning from any point.