Writing: Input Wanted Distance between the star systems Sirius and Alpha Centauri?

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The distance between the star systems Sirius and Alpha Centauri is approximately 9.5 light-years. From the perspective of Alpha Centauri, Sirius appears as a close double star with Betelgeuse, located less than a degree apart in the sky. This information supports the realism of interstellar travel in science fiction narratives, allowing for plausible changes in starship destinations.
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Need the distance between the two star systems (Sirius & Centauri) for a science fiction novel.
 
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9,5 ly.
Incidentally, viewed from Alpha Centauri, Sirius is a tight double of Betelgeuse (less than a degree distance).
 
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Thanks for the answer and the extra tip. Now I know it's 'realistic' for my starship to change destinations.
 
We've just had an interesting thread about generation ships, but I don't think that that is the most reasonable way to colonize another planet. Fatal problems: - Crew may become chaotic and self destructive. - Crew may become so adapted to space as to be unwilling to return to a planet. - Making the planet habitable may take longer then the trip, so the ship needs to last far longer than just the journey. - Mid-flight malfunction may render the ship unable to decelerate at the destination...
I know this topic is extremely contraversial and debated, but I'm writing a book where an AI attempts to become as human as possible. Would it, eventually, especially in the far future, be possible for an AI to gain a conscious? To be clear, my definition of a consciousness being the ability to possess self-created morals, thoughts, and views, AKA a whole personality. And if this is possible (and let's just say it is for this question), about how long may it take for something to happen...
This is a question for people who know about astrophysics. It's been said that the habitable zones around red dwarf stars are so close to those stars that any planets in the zones would be tidally locked to the stars in question. With one side roasting and another side freezing almost forever, those planets wouldn't be hospitable to life. a) Could there be forms of life--whole ecologies--that first evolve in the planet's twilight zone and then extend their habitat by burrowing...

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