Parallax

is a displacement or difference in the apparent position of an object viewed along two different lines of
sight, and is measured by the angle or semi-angle of inclination between those two lines. The term is derived
from the Greek (parallaxis), meaning "alteration". Nearby objects have a larger parallax than
more distant objects when observed from different positions, so parallax can be used to determine
distances.

Astronomers use the principle of parallax to measure distances to the closer stars. Here, the term "parallax"
is the semi-angle of inclination between two sight-lines to the star, as observed when the Earth is on
opposite sides of the sun in its orbit. These distances from the lowest rung of what is called "the cosmic
distance ladder", the first in a succession of methods by which astronomers determine the distances to
celestial objects, serving as a basis for other distance measurements in astronomy forming the higher rungs
of the ladder.

Also affects optical instruments such as rifle scopes, binoculars, microscopes, and twin-lens reflex cameras
that view objects from slightly different angles. Many animals, including humans, have two eyes with
overlapping visual fields that use parallax to gain depth perception; this process is known as stereopsis. In
computer vision the effect is used for computer stereo vision, and there is a device called a parallax
rangefinder that uses it to find range, and in some variations also altitude to a target.

Cepheid Star

Are stars that have evolved off the main sequence into the Cepheid instability strip. They are regular radialpulsating stars, with a well-defined period-luminosity relationship, which makes them ideal stars to be used
as primary distance indicating standard candles. These stars also show radial velocity variations which
correspond to the photometric curves. Brighter cepheids have longer periods than fainter (less luminous!)
cepheids.
Are divided into several subclasses which exhibit markedly different masses, ages, and evolutionary
histories: classical Cepheids, type II Cepheids, anomalous Cepheids, anddwarf Cepheids.
The term cepheid originates from Delta Cephei in the constellation Cepheus, the first star of this type
identified, by John Goodricke in 1784. Delta Cephei is also of particular importance as a calibrator of the
Cepheid period-luminosity relation since its distance is among the most precisely established for a Cepheid,
thanks in part to its membership in a star cluster[7][8] and the availability of precise Hubble Space
Telescope/Hipparcos parallaxes.[9] The accuracy of the distance measurements to Cepheid variables and
other bodies within 7,500 lightyears is vastly improved by combining images from Hubble taken six months
apart when the Earth and Hubble are on opposite sides of the sun.

Parsec

(symbol: pc) is an astronomical unit of length used to measure distances to objects outside the Solar System.
1 parsec is the distance at which a disc with a radius of 1 astronomical unit appears to subtend an angle of 1
arcsecond. About 3.26 light-years (31 trillion kilometres or 19 trillion miles) in length, the parsec is shorter
than the distance from our solar system to the nearest star, Proxima Centauri, which is 1.3 parsecs from the
Sun. Nevertheless, most of the stars visible to the unaided eye in the nighttime sky are within 500 parsecs of
the Sun.
Was likely first suggested in 1913 by British astronomer Herbert Hall Turner. Named from an abbreviation of
the parallax of one arcsecond, it was defined so as to make calculations of astronomical distances quick and
easy for astronomers from only their raw observational data. Partly for this reason, it is still the unit
preferred in astronomy and astrophysics, though the light year remains prominent in popular science texts
and more everyday usage.