Question

The bright star Sirius has a parallax angle of 0.38 arcsec. Find the distance in parsecs and in light-years.

Answer 1

To find the distance in parsecs, we can use the formula:

Distance (in parsecs) = 1 / Parallax angle (in arcseconds)

Plugging in the values:

Distance (in parsecs) = 1 / 0.38 = 2.63 parsecs

To convert this distance into light-years, we can use the conversion factor 1 parsec = 3.26 light-years:

Distance (in light-years) = 2.63 parsecs * 3.26 = 8.56 light-years

Therefore, the distance to the star Sirius is approximately 2.63 parsecs or 8.56 light-years.