How do astronomers use the method of parallax to measure the distance of stars and what are its limitations?
Answer 1
Heather Thompson
Astronomers use the method of parallax by observing a star from two different positions in Earth’s orbit around the Sun, six months apart. The apparent shift in the star’s position against the background of more distant stars is measured. This shift, or parallax angle, is used to calculate the star’s distance using trigonometry. The primary limitation of this method is that it is only effective for relatively nearby stars, typically within a few hundred light-years, because the parallax angles for more distant stars become too small to measure accurately with current technology.
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