I'm doing some research on Sirius at the moment. A question, based on this comment circulated online.
By coming directly towards us, Sirius creates an axis of rotation with Earth relative to the stellar background. Because of this, of all the stars in the sky, only the annual heliacal rising of Sirius exactly matches the length of our solar year, 365.25 days.The Ancient Egyptians were somehow aware of this unique relationship between our system and Sirius and marked the heliacal rising of Sirius as the first day of their calendar year.
My understanding is that Sirius heralded the Egyptian "New Year" but the latter was variable based on when exactly the flooding occurred.
Thank you all.
By coming directly towards us, Sirius creates an axis of rotation with Earth relative to the stellar background. Because of this, of all the stars in the sky, only the annual heliacal rising of Sirius exactly matches the length of our solar year, 365.25 days.The Ancient Egyptians were somehow aware of this unique relationship between our system and Sirius and marked the heliacal rising of Sirius as the first day of their calendar year.
My understanding is that Sirius heralded the Egyptian "New Year" but the latter was variable based on when exactly the flooding occurred.
Thank you all.
