Examination of the interstellar spectrum of AE Aur for long-term changes

The runaway O9.5 V star AE Aur is moving across the line of sight behind th e curtain provided by the emission/reflection nebula IC 405. The interstell ar line spectrum of AE Aur was examined on a HIRES spectrogram obtained in 1998 to determine if there had been any change since the original high-reso lution observations by Adams in the 1940s. No equivalent widths were publis hed by Adams, so only a comparison of radial velocities was possible. No si gnificant changes over the intervening half-century were detected; during t hat time the cross motion of AE Aur in the plane of the sky amounted to abo ut 1450 AU. Similarly, no convincing changes were found in the interstellar Ca II lines of the runaway O star mu Col.