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An international parallax campaign to measure distance to the Moon and Mars
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Metadata
Title
An international parallax campaign to measure distance to the Moon and Mars
Abstract
Trigonometric parallax is a powerful method to work out the distance of celestial bodies, and it was used in the past to measure the distance of the Moon, Venus, Mars and nearby stars. We set up an observation campaign for high school and undergraduate students with the purpose to measure both the Moon's and Mars' parallax. To have a large enough baseline (or basis), we took simultaneous pictures of these celestial bodies from Italy and South Africa. Then, we estimated the apparent shift relative to background stars and, via trigonometry, we worked out the distances of the Moon and Mars. Reliable results were found.
Date
01/01/2009
Citation
Cenadelli, D., Zeni, M., Bernagozzi, A., Calcidese, P., Ferreira, L., Hoang, C., & Rijsdijk, C. (2009). An international parallax campaign to measure distance to the Moon and Mars. European Journal of Physics, 30(1), 35. https://doi.org/10.1088/0143-0807/
Type of Publication
Author(s)
Cenadelli, Davide | Zeni, Mauro | Bernagozzi, Andrea | Calcidese, Paolo | Ferreira, Lucas | Hoang, Chiara | Rijsdijk, Case
Construct
Methodology
Research Setting
Target Group
Students > College Students | Students > Middle School Students | Students > Secondary School Students
Institution(s)
Istituto di Fisica Generale Applicata, Universita degli Studi di Milano | Liceo Ginnasio ‘G Parini | Osservatorio Astronomico della Regione Autonoma Valle d’Aosta | Osservatorio Astronomico della Regione Autonoma Valle d’Aosta | Astronomical Society of Southern Africa | Istituto di Fisica Generale Applicata, Universita degli Studi di Milano | Astronomical Society of Southern Africa
Journal Name
European Journal of Physics
Peer-Reviewed Status
Publisher
Institute of Physics
Volume
30
Issue Number
1
ISSN
1361-6404
Resource Type
Nation(s) of Study
Italy | South Africa
Language
English