An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
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The apparent → difference in the → position of a → celestial object as seen by an → observer from two widely separated → locations. The parallax of an object can be used to derive its → distance. The relationship between the → parallax angle  p (measured in seconds of arc) and the distance d (measured in → astronomical units) is given by d = 206,264 / p. For a parallax angle p = 1'', the distance to the star would correspond to 206,264 AU. By convention, the distance unit → parsec is defined to be equivalent to 206,264 AU. Therefore, the parallax relation takes the much simpler form: d (in pc) = 1/p (in seconds of arc). The first star whose parallax was measured was → 61 Cygni (Bessel, 1838).
See also:
→ annual parallax, → diurnal parallax, → dynamical parallax, → geocentric parallax, → heliocentric parallax, → horizontal parallax, → lunar parallax, → mean parallax, → parallactic ellipse, → parsec, → photometric parallax, → secular parallax, → solar parallax, → spectroscopic parallax, → statistical parallax, → trigonometric parallax.

→ stellar; → parallax.