Stellar proper motion
Movimiento propio de las estrellas
- Date
- 1718 · confidence high
- Place
- Greenwich, London, England
- Credited to
- Edmond Halley
- People
- 👤 Edmond Halley1656–1742
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
What was discovered
By comparing ancient positions with modern ones, Halley discovered that Sirius, Arcturus and Aldebaran had shifted. The 'fixed stars' move: they are distant suns in motion.
What it led to
- Stellar kinematics
- Discovery of the Sun's motion within the Galaxy (Herschel)
- Search for nearby stars for parallax measurement