Question

The star Pollux in the constellation Gemini has a parallax angle p = 0."093. Find its distance in light years.

Answer 1

Answer on Question #54918, Physics / Astronomy | Astrophysics

Since the trigonometric parallax $p = 0.093$ we can find the distance in parsecs directly:

$$D = \frac{1}{p}, \text{ thus:}$$ $$D = \frac{1}{0.093} = 10.75 pc$$

We need distance in light years. We know that $1\mathrm{pc} = 3.26\mathrm{Ly}$, so:

$$D = \frac{10.75\ \mathrm{pc} \times 3.26\ \mathrm{Ly}}{1\ \mathrm{Ly}} = 35.045\ \mathrm{Ly}$$

Answer: 35.045 Ly

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