Questions tagged [parsec]

Questions related to the unit of measurement, parsec, which is approximately 3.26 times the distance of a light year.

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Converting parsecs to light years in the dumbest way possible

I have to convert 132 parsecs to light years and I'm struggling to get the expected result. Here is my method: $132 \text{ pc} = 132'' = 2,2' = 0,03(6)°$ I have an equation for stellar parallax which ...
xenfoulis's user avatar
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Do parsecs scale as an inverse proportion with parallax angle?

high school student here. In astronomy my teacher says that if the parsec angle ($\alpha$) of a star is 1/50 arcsecond, then that star is 50 parsecs away. I'm not really convinced - calculation of ...
Hypatia of Alexandria's user avatar
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How can we calculate velocity of an object given the distance from an object in parsecs?

If you had the distance from a celestial object, in parsecs, how would you calculate the velocity of the said object? Edit: I'm sorry I don't have more context, the specific questions is: "A galaxy ...
Ganlas's user avatar
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1 vote
2 answers
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How would I search within an angular distance of an object corresponding to a distance in parsecs?

I'm interested in the learning about the local densities around galaxies. I've found myself a bit confused on how to relate angular distances (arcseconds) with physical distances (parsecs) when ...
curious_cosmo's user avatar
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Conversion of UBVRIJHK magnitudes to luminosity?

So, I know that the standard for conversion from bolometric magnitude to luminosity established in 2015 equates to: L = 10^(-0.4 * magnitude) * 3.0128e28 Easy ...
KarenRei's user avatar
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1 answer
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How far in arc seconds is a planet from its star? The star is 12 parsecs away from earth. The planet is 1 AU from its star

I've been reading the book Welcome to The Universe by Niel De Grasse Tyson. In the tenth chapter he has mentioned "Forty light-years is 12 parsecs. A planet at 1 AU from its star, 40 light-years away, ...
Antony Alexander's user avatar
-1 votes
1 answer
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How to calculate a Galactocentric distance of another galaxy

So I have two parameters, I have the distance to a galaxy of 879 kpc and the sky distance in degrees (0.131501). How would I then use these two bits of information to calculate the Galactocentric ...
MichaelJRoberts's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
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A quick (elementary) check on arsecond conversion to sky distance in parsecs

I just wanted to double check I had something correct. If an object, say a nebula, is measured to roughly have a diameter or extent of, say, 250 arcseconds, would its diameter in parsec simply ...
MichaelJRoberts's user avatar
29 votes
3 answers
4k views

What is a parsec and how is it measured?

Astronomical units of measurement are mostly pretty straight-forward: Astronomical Units refer to the mean Earth-Sun distance (~150 million km or 93 million miles) Light years are the distance light ...
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