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What is a parallax measure?

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Answer:

Parallax is an apparent displacement or difference of orientation of an object viewed along two different lines of sight, and is measured by the angle or semi-angle of inclination between those two lines. The term is derived from the Greek παράλλαξις (parallaxis), meaning "alteration". Nearby objects have a larger parallax than more distant objects when observed from different positions, so parallax can be used to determine distances.

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First answer by Cosmospup. Last edit by Cosmospup. Contributor trust: 856 [recommend contributor ]. Question popularity: 1 [recommend question].

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Parallax

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Relevant answers:

A parallax can be used to measure what?
a paralax can be used to measure the relation of the distance between one star to another.such as, when you take a picture of a star, and another of that same star six months later, with the paralax...
How do you measure the distance to the stars with parallax?
Simply stated; you take a picture of the sky (many in fact) and then take a new set 6 months later. In six months the Earth will have moved about 185 million miles (base line). Now compare photos....
How do astronomers easily measure parallax?
Astronomers measure parallax by using a large base. Often, the base is 186,000,000 miles long, the distance between two positions of the Earth six months apart. When looking at a star field using...
What astronomers use parallax to measure the distance to?
Stars.
How is a parallax used to measure the distances to stars?
As Earth orbits the Sun individual stars seem to move their position against the celestial background. The nearer a star is to is, the greatest that apparent move is. That apparent change in the...