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If a star has a parallax of 0.05 (seconds of arc) then its distance in light years is about 65.2 light years.

A little more detail, if required:

Distance to a star (in parsecs) = 1/parallax (in seconds of arc).

So, in this case: Distance = 1/0.05 = 20 parsecs.

A parsec is a distance of about 3.26 light years.

So, that means the answer is about 20 x 3.26 light years.

That's about 65.2 light years.

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10y ago
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8y ago

When you measure the parallax of an object, you observe its location in the sky when the Earth is at 2 opposite points across from the sun and record the angle between the locations in arc-seconds (1/3600 of a degree). Using some trigonometry, it can be shown that the distance to an object is inversely proportional to its parallax.

By convention, an object that has a parallax of 1 arc-second is defined to be one parsec away, with one parsec being equal to 3.26 light-years. Thus, a star with a parallax of .25 arc-seconds will be 1/.25=4 parsecs away, which is the equivalent of 4*3.26=13.04 light-years or 7.66556376E13 miles.

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Q: If a star has a parallax of 0.05 then its distance in light years is about?
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If a star has a parallax of 0.20 arc seconds what is the distance to that star?

I assume you mean the parallax. If the parallax is 0.1 arc-seconds, then the distance is 1 / 0.1 = 10 parsecs.I assume you mean the parallax. If the parallax is 0.1 arc-seconds, then the distance is 1 / 0.1 = 10 parsecs.I assume you mean the parallax. If the parallax is 0.1 arc-seconds, then the distance is 1 / 0.1 = 10 parsecs.I assume you mean the parallax. If the parallax is 0.1 arc-seconds, then the distance is 1 / 0.1 = 10 parsecs.


Do all-stars have measurable parallax angles?

No, only the closer ones have a parallax that is large enough to be measured. The first star to have its parallax measured was 61 Cygni, measured by Bessel in 1838 and found to be at a distance of 10.3 light years, later corrected to 11.4. The closest star Proxima Centauri has a parallax of only about 0.7 seconds of arc. Before then the absence of parallax for the stars was considered an important part of the case that the Earth cannot be revolving round the Sun.


4.2 light years is the distance to what planet?

4.2 light years is the distance to the Alpha Centauri Star System.


How do astronomers measure the distance to nearby stars?

Astronomers use a method called parallax to measure the distance to nearby stars. Astronomers can measure parallax by measuring the position of a nearby star with respect to the distant stars behind it. Then, they measure the same stars again six months later when the Earth is on the opposite side of its orbit.


What is the apparent movement of a star used to measure its distance from earth?

This is called PARALLAX.

Related questions

If a star has a parallax of 0.20 arc seconds what is the distance to that star?

I assume you mean the parallax. If the parallax is 0.1 arc-seconds, then the distance is 1 / 0.1 = 10 parsecs.I assume you mean the parallax. If the parallax is 0.1 arc-seconds, then the distance is 1 / 0.1 = 10 parsecs.I assume you mean the parallax. If the parallax is 0.1 arc-seconds, then the distance is 1 / 0.1 = 10 parsecs.I assume you mean the parallax. If the parallax is 0.1 arc-seconds, then the distance is 1 / 0.1 = 10 parsecs.


Is parallax a star?

The parallax refers to the apparent change in the star's position, due to Earth's movement around the Sun. This parallax can be used to measure the distance to nearby stars (the closer the star, the larger will its parallax be).


If you determinee that a certain star displayed a large parallax what couls you say about its distance?

If a certain star displayed a large parallax, i would say its distance is not wide.


How does parallax shift varies with distance?

The closer the star, the greater the parallax angle, which is why you can't measure the distance to very distant stars using the parallax method.


Is parsec a linear distance measure?

Yes. The parsec is a unit of distance, or length, equal to about 3.26 light-years, or 3.09 x 1016 meters.


If a star's parallax angle is too small to measure what can you conclude about the star's distance from earth?

It means that the distance is greater than a certain amount - depending on how precisely you can measure the parallax.


One parsec is equivalent to how many trillion miles?

No. The distance light travels in a year is called a light-year. A parsec is the distance at which a star (or other object) would have a yearly parallax of 1 arc-second, and it is equal to about 3.26 light-years.


Do all-stars have measurable parallax angles?

No, only the closer ones have a parallax that is large enough to be measured. The first star to have its parallax measured was 61 Cygni, measured by Bessel in 1838 and found to be at a distance of 10.3 light years, later corrected to 11.4. The closest star Proxima Centauri has a parallax of only about 0.7 seconds of arc. Before then the absence of parallax for the stars was considered an important part of the case that the Earth cannot be revolving round the Sun.


What does par in parsec means?

parallax[parallax+second], in astronomy, basic unit of length for measuring interstellar and intergalactic distances, equal to 206,265 times the distance from the earth to the sun, 3.26 light-years, or 3.08×1013 km (about 19 million million mi). The distance in parsecs of an object from the earth is the reciprocal of the http://www.answers.com/topic/parallax of the object. The nearest star, Proxima Centauri, has a parallax of 0.763″ of arc and a distance of about 1.31 parsecs.definition from Answers.com


What does a big parralax say about a stars distance?

The larger a star's parallax, the closer the star is to us.


What is the furthest star at a distance of 520 light years?

Any star at a distance of 520 light-years will be at the same distance as any other star at that distance. There is no known "furthest star"; the furthest known galaxies are at a distance of over 40 billion light-years. Galaxies are made up of stars.


How is the distance measured of stars less than 1000 light years away?

The parallax method is usually used in this case. Earth's movement in its orbit cause an apparent shift in position in such a star.