trig parallax (1 Viewer)

[dawso]

gday all

i prob wont get my answer in time but may as well ask away, in terms of how this is used, it seems like a trig relationship is needed to determine the distance, however, it is given as the d = 1/p relationship

anyone help us out here??

 

[Emma-Jayde]

Do you want how to use trig parallax or why it's used?

 

[dawso]

i beleive i want 2 know how its used....

 

[Emma-Jayde]

Ok...Well the yellow dot is the star you're measuring distnace to.
The green dots are the earth at different points of the year.
The baseline is a known length, eg the distance between earth at position 1 and position 2.
The angle theta is also a known angle, the parallax angle, or the apparent change in angle of the star when viewed from a different point.

You can use the known information to find the distance to the star, through trig.

 

[Emma-Jayde]

Errm strike that image. try this one instead....

 

[dawso]

cheers, i reckon i get it, the syllabus is just shaddy as 2 what u need 2 know

*gives emma-jayde virtual rep points*

 

[Emma-Jayde]

Lol, ok, the actual trig is

tan theta = baseline/distance