Parallax

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Quiz

What exact is parallax?

1: It is a semi-professional astronomer.
2: It is a parallel support beam in some modern telescopes.
3: Parallax is the angular displacement of an object as viewed from two different locations.
4: It is a brand of medicine for astronomers with constipation.

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We know the distances to roughly how may stars using parallax measured by Earth-bound telescopes?

1: About 300.
2: About 3 million.
3: A few thousand
4: More than 100,000

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We hope to gauge the distances to roughly how may stars using parallax measured by the Hipparchos spacecraft?

1: About 300.
2: About 3 million.
3: A few thousand
4: More than 100,000

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What is a parsec ?

1: It is the distance at which an object would have a parallax of one second of arc.
2: It is a computer virus that infects astronomical programs.
3: It is one billionth of a second.
4: It is the second telescope in an interferometer, used in parallel with the first.

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Because the ancients could not detect parallax in the positions of the stars, they decided ...

1: that the concept of parallax was inherently faulted.
2: that their own eyes or measurements were faulty because perfection demanded close stars.
3: that the stars were simply too far (perhaps infinitely far) to show parallax.
4: that the search for parallax was just a made-up farce to keep astronomers employed.

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