Distance and Parallax

Parallax is a way to measure the distance to an object. In order to find any distance, you must have the baseline or a known distance. In the Surveyor’s Method, the baseline is the distance between two stakes placed in the ground. The angle is measured to a distant object at each stake. In the astronomers method to find stellar parallax, the baseline is the diameter of the orbit around the sun, or 2 AU. During this process, pictures are taken to observe the apparent motion of the stars. The last way that astronomers can find the distance of stars is called spectroscopic parallax. This is the ability to use to the H-R diagram and to use characteristics to help classify where the star will fit in the diagram and the distance to the star.