learn.howToCalculate
learn.whatIsHeading
Parallax measures nearby star distance by observing angular shift as Earth orbits Sun. 1 arcsecond parallax = 1 parsec distance.
Fórmula
Calculate distance: d (pc) = 1 / parallax (arcsec)
Guía paso a paso
- 1Measure apparent position change (arcseconds) from opposite Earth orbits
- 2Calculate distance: d (pc) = 1 / parallax (arcsec)
- 3Verify with other methods
Ejemplos resueltos
Entrada
Parallax = 0.1 arcsec (Proxima Centauri)
Resultado
d = 10 pc ≈ 3.26 light-years
Nearest star
Errores comunes a evitar
- ✕Confusing parsec with light-year
- ✕Over-interpreting parallax errors for distant objects
Preguntas frecuentes
Why is parallax hard to measure?
Shift is tiny even for nearby stars; requires precision astrometry.
learn.ctaText
Pruébalo tú mismo →