The inconspicuous binary star, distinguishable even with a smaller telescope, is known for being the first one to have its trigonometric parallax measured in 1838 - the distance of this celestial object was determined by the German astronomer Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel (who mainly worked in astrometry - he accurately measured the positions of over 50,000 stars and based on the analysis of their irregular proper motions, he predicted the presence of their long-invisible companions for both Sirius and Procyon in 1844).