Stellar parallax as small as 0.01 arcsec can be measured using telescopes on Earth. To what distance does this measurement correspond in space?
A) 500 pc
B) 200 pc
C) 0.01 pc
D) 100 pc

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Stellar parallax is used to measure distances to stars. The distance in parsecs is the reciprocal of the parallax angle in arcseconds. Therefore, a parallax of 0.01 arcseconds corresponds to a distance of 1/0.01 = 100 parsecs.

Stellar Parallax as Small as 0