What is a Parsec?
We’re pretty sure that a parsec is the amount of time it takes a golfer to make par, but just in case we’re wrong, let’s check out this video.
| Science | Astronomy |
Transcript
it's nothing more than a unit of measurement And he
couldn't exactly set an egg timer to measure one either
because despite its misleading name ah par sec is not
a measure of time but a measure of distance Well
how much distance Well considering we're talking in terms of
space you can bet it's going to be more than
on say three or four feet like a light year
As you may know especially if you've ever time to
stop Watch light travels at one hundred eighty six thousand
miles second and there are thirty one million five hundred
thirty six thousand seconds in a year On a second
year a light year is the distance light can travel
in one year so one hundred eighty six thousand times
thirty one million five hundred six thousand gives us almost
six trillion miles in a light year Trillian sixteen Yeah
a par sec is three point two six light years
for nineteen point two trillion miles a long way But
why do we need a unit of measurement that seems
so random aren't lightyears and miles enough Do we really
need to throw another unit into the next round Like
all things science there's actually a pretty sensible reason for
us to use parsecs when calculating interstellar distance well years
ago Many years ago astronomers and gaze at a star
from one end of the earth orbit and then they
see that same star Six months later when earth was
on the opposite side of its orbit well they realized
they could get a baseline for a parallax measurement That
was twice the earth distance to the sun but using
tried and true measuring methods the numbers and get a
tad too unwieldy So they pulled the idea of a
parsecs out of their brains Brains brains where g rated
insurance the particles the distance at which a star would
show a one degree arc Wrong Yeah one degree arc
Second shift if viewed across a baseline of one astronomical
unit Aii the radius of the earth orbit I got
this diagram Here's us here's the sun here's the sun
on weight distance from us to the sun that's one
You are one astronomical unit So you were on the
earth and we look at a star located here a
parallax angle measuring one mark Second is formed See that
distance from our son too That star yeah one parsecs
unfortunately it's a little tough to look at a star
that fits these parameters because well there aren't any No
stars are even that close thinking really oh snap and
an arc second is over tiny so parsons won't really
have too much use to us until telescope for development
That could make sense of that type of very precise
information But now that the technology is available it's a
cinch to measure distances between our son and all the
other stars out there The next time your mom ask
you to hand her the part sack while you could
tell her to go Take a long trip into space 00:03:38.038 --> [endTime] And it won't even be an insult