Question

1.3.2 Measurement of Distance to Stars:​

Answer 1

Answer:

Astronomers estimate the distance of nearby objects in space by using a method called stellar parallax, or trigonometric parallax. Simply put, they measure a star's apparent movement against the background of more distant stars as Earth revolves around the sun.

Answer 2

Answer:

Explanation:

To measure the distance of a star, astronomers use a baseline of 1 astronomical unit (AU), which is the average distance between Earth and the sun, about 93 million miles (150 million kilometers). They also measure small angles in arcseconds, which are tiny fractions of a degree on the night sky.

If we divide the baseline of one AU by the tangent of one arcsecond, it comes out to about 19.2 trillion miles (30.9 trillion kilometers), or about 3.26 light years. This unit of distance is called a parallax second, or parsec (pc).