A long week at work, lots of missed observing time, but I was able to make it to the monthly TAAA meeting tonight.
Our guest speaker was Dr. Jay Holberg, who gave an excellent talk about the brightest star in the sky, Alpha Canis Major, better known as Sirius. Dr. Holberg has written a book about Sirius, and he certainly knows the subject - he has even had numerous observing runs with various space telescopes to observe it.
Sirius actually has a faint white dwarf companion. Sirius B has a roughly 50-year orbital period and is currently moving farther from the planet - it will soon be possible to observe it with amateur instruments.
The history of the discovery of Sirius B is a fascinating story. I'm always intrigued by the human side of astronomical history - many stories include failures, infighting, passionate debates, etc., and Sirius is no exception.
When I left the meeting, I looked up to see Sirius shining brightly down, but I held a newfound respect for it.
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