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Asked by: Chirstian Picher
science space and astronomyWhy does the parallax distance method only work for nearby stars?
1 Answer. Oscar L. Because the change in viewing angle is so small for most stars that we cannot resolve it. We can measure only distances out to about 1000 light years.
Beside this, why does the parallax method only work for stars located close to the earth?
Because the star is too far away. Parallax relies on precise measurements of the angle observed between observing an object at the opposite sides of Earth's orbit. Stars are so incredibly far away that the parallax angle to even the closest star other than the Sun is incredibly small.
Beside above, why can the parallax method only be used to determine the distance to nearby stars and not those further away?
1. a) Astronomers use the parallax method to measure the distance to nearby stars, but we can't use it to measure the distance to stars in other galaxies. They are so distant that the parallax is too small to be measured since parallax varies inversely with distance.
As the distance from the star to the earth increases, the parallax angle becomes very small. With such small angles it becomes difficult to measure and therefore the calculation of distances becomes difficult.