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Positional Astronomy BR Annual Parallax

1) Annual parallax is caused by the Earth's yearly orbit around the Sun, which shifts the Earth's position from one side of its orbit to the other. 2) This causes nearby stars to appear shifted in position against the background of more distant stars. 3) The amount of the apparent shift, known as the annual parallax, can be used to calculate the distance to the star in parsecs.

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94 views

Positional Astronomy BR Annual Parallax

1) Annual parallax is caused by the Earth's yearly orbit around the Sun, which shifts the Earth's position from one side of its orbit to the other. 2) This causes nearby stars to appear shifted in position against the background of more distant stars. 3) The amount of the apparent shift, known as the annual parallax, can be used to calculate the distance to the star in parsecs.

Uploaded by

garryhodgeson
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
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Positional Astronomy: <br>Annual parallax

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http://star-www.st-and.ac.uk/~fv/webnotes/chapt14.htm

Positional Astronomy:
Annual parallax
{Note: If your browser does not distinguish between "a,b" and ", " (the Greek letters "alpha, beta") then I am afraid you will not be able to make much sense of the equations on this page.}

Geocentric or diurnal parallax varies with the daily spinning of the Earth around its axis.
Annual parallax is caused by the Earth's yearly orbit around the Sun.
The Earth shifts by 2a from side to side,
where a is the radius of the Earth's orbit (assumed circular) = 1 Astronomical Unit.

For the star S1, the maximum shift occurs


as the Earth moves from position E1 to E2.
If the distance between the Sun and the star S1 is r,
then we define the annual parallax as , where tan() = a/r.
And since a/r is always extremely small,
we may write = a/r (in radians).
If the star is not at S1, but at some other arbitrary position S2,
then the shift in position as Earth moves from E1 to E2 will appear less.
Let the direction from the Sun to the star make an angle
with the line E1E2 .
But the star appears at angle ' from Earth at E1.
By plane trigonometry,
sin(-')/a = sin(')/r
so
sin(-') = sin(') a/r
= sin(') sin()
Since (-') is a very small angle,

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Positional Astronomy: <br>Annual parallax

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http://star-www.st-and.ac.uk/~fv/webnotes/chapt14.htm

we can replace ' by , and write


-' = sin()
The apparent shift is towards the Sun,
and it alters the star's ecliptic longitude
(so this is another occasion for using ecliptic coordinates).
If the star is not in the plane of the ecliptic,
there is a shift in ecliptic latitude too.

The star X at (, ) is shifted to X' at (+, +)


along a great circle arc towards the position of the Sun S.
XX' is the parallactic shift sin().
We need to find the shifts and .
UX is the arc of a small circle centred on the ecliptic pole K,
passing through the star X.
The length of arc UX is cos() the shift in longitude.
The length of arc UX' is - the shift in latitude.
Consider the tiny triangle UXX' as a plane right-angled triangle,

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Positional Astronomy: <br>Annual parallax

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http://star-www.st-and.ac.uk/~fv/webnotes/chapt14.htm

and denote the angle at X by the arbitrary symbol :


UX = XX' cos() = sin() cos()
UX' = XX' sin() = sin() sin()
In other words,
cos() = sin() cos()
= - sin() sin()

(equations 1)

To eliminate and from these two equations,


we use the spherical triangle KXS.
First, by the sine rule:
sin(90+/sin(90) = sin(S-)/sin()
i.e. sin() cos() = sin(S-)
where S is the ecliptic longitude of the Sun.

(expression 2)

Then, by the cosine rule:


cos(90) = cos() cos(90-) + sin() sin(90-) cos(90+)
i.e. 0 = cos() sin() - sin() cos() sin()
So: sin() sin() = cos() sin()/cos()
To get rid of the cos() on the right-hand side of this expression,
we use the cosine rule again:
cos() = cos(90-) cos(90) + sin(90-) sin(90) cos(S-)
i.e. cos() = cos() cos(S-)
Substituting this expression for cos() in the previous equation:
sin() sin() = cos() cos(S-) sin() /cos()
i.e. sin() sin() = cos(S-) sin()
(expression 3)
Now we can substitute these expressions (2) and (3) in equations (1), to get:
cos() = sin(S-)
= cos(S-) sin()
This is actually the formula for an ellipse, of the form:
x = a cos(), y = b sin()
where x is the shift parallel to the ecliptic [ cos() ]
y is the shift perpendicular to the ecliptic [ ]
and is temporary shorthand for [ 90 - (S-) ].
So we have a = and b = sin()
In other words, this parallactic ellipse has
semi-major axis , parallel to the ecliptic,
and semi-minor axis sin(), perpendicular to the ecliptic.
So, during the year,

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http://star-www.st-and.ac.uk/~fv/webnotes/chapt14.htm

the star appears to trace out a parallactic ellipse,


which is a reflection of the Earth's orbit.
For a star on the ecliptic ( = 0) it reduces to a straight line;
for a star at the pole of the ecliptic ( = 90) it becomes a circle.
The size of a star's parallactic ellipse yields its distance,
in units of parsecs (parallax-seconds):
r (in parsecs) = 1 / (in arc-seconds),
so a star at 1 parsec would have parallax = 1 arc-second.
(In fact, no star is this close.)

Exercise:
A stars true position is
Right Ascension 6h 0m 0s, declination 0 0' 0",
and it lies at a distance of 25 parsecs.
On the date of the Spring Equinox,
how far will it appear to be shifted by annual parallax,
and in what direction?
Click here for the answer.

Previous section: Geocentric parallax


Next section: Aberration
Return to index

3.12.2016 17:15

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