2 years, 5 months ago
How many approximate miles is Sirius away from the Earth?
How did Scientists determine the distance Sirius is away from the Earth, in general numbers?
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Sirius is 8.6 light years from Earth according to http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/stars/majorstars.shtml .
1 light year is 9.46 x 10^12 km, so 8.6 light years is 8.14 x 10^12 km, which is 5.1 x 10^13 miles. This can be written as:
51,000,000,000,000 miles or 51 trillion miles.
For such relatively nearby stars, the distance can be calculated e.g. by parallax (the change in direction to the target as a result of making measurements from two points separated by a reasonable distance). Another method can be by using the relative magnitude and knowing the type of star Sirius is.
See e.g. http://www.physicsforums.com/archive/index.php/t-147385.html and http://www.astro.psu.edu/~bmiller/astro11/group.html for some more insight.
1 light year is 9.46 x 10^12 km, so 8.6 light years is 8.14 x 10^12 km, which is 5.1 x 10^13 miles. This can be written as:
51,000,000,000,000 miles or 51 trillion miles.
For such relatively nearby stars, the distance can be calculated e.g. by parallax (the change in direction to the target as a result of making measurements from two points separated by a reasonable distance). Another method can be by using the relative magnitude and knowing the type of star Sirius is.
See e.g. http://www.physicsforums.com/archive/index.php/t-147385.html and http://www.astro.psu.edu/~bmiller/astro11/group.html for some more insight.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
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