Stellar Parallax Practice Problems Name ________________________ Block __

d = 1/p Parallax Angle (measured in arcseconds - ”)

Distance (measured in parsecs)

1 parsec = 3.26 light years

Example Calculation: What is the parallax of a star located 10 parsecs away?

10 = 1 X=1 X= 0.1 or Parallax = 0.1”

X 10

Analysis:
1. What is the parallax angle of a star located 5 parsecs away? (SHOW MATH!)

2. A star that has a parallax of 0.05” is how far away? (SHOW MATH!)

3. Star 1 is 12 parsecs away and Star 2 is 20 parsecs away, which star has a greater parallax? (SHOW MATH!)

4. The closest star to the sun is Proxima Centauri. It has a parallax of 0.77”. How far away is it? (SHOW MATH!)

5. How does the parallax of a nearby object to the Earth compare to the parallax of a more distant object?

6. How much parallax would an extremely distant object have?

7. Could parallax be used to determine the distance to all stars? Why or why not?