secular-parallax | space-encyclopedia

Space Travel

23, May, 2012

Space exploration began with the launch of Sputnik and Astrophysics was born as the application of physics to the phenomena observed by Astronomy, which etymologically means laws of the stars.

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Term	Definition
Secular Parallax	The angular displacement over time of a star’s position caused by the Sun’s motion through space relative to the local standard of rest. Measurement of the secular parallax provides a method of determining the distance to nearby star groups, on the assumption that the individual motions of the stars in such a group are random with an average of zero. The Sun’s relative velocity, also needed in the calculation, is 19.5 km/s, which amounts to 4.11 AU per year.

Term

Definition

Secular Parallax

The angular displacement over time of a star’s position caused by the Sun’s motion through space relative to the local standard of rest. Measurement of the secular parallax provides a method of determining the distance to nearby star groups, on the assumption that the individual motions of the stars in such a group are random with an average of zero. The Sun’s relative velocity, also needed in the calculation, is 19.5 km/s, which amounts to 4.11 AU per year.