Home > Astrophysics > Relativistic Orbits

How is spectroscopic parallax is determined?

Answer 1

The absolute magnitude of a star is determined. It is combined with the already observed apparent magnitude and the distance modulus provides the distance to the star.

This website, https://tutor.hix.ai has an excellent discussion and graphics.

Although it is a method of determining the distance to stars, the term "spectroscopic parallax" is misleading because it has nothing to do with parallax. A good luminosity chart and example of its use can be found at https://tutor.hix.ai

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Answer 2

Michael Adkins

In order to calculate spectroscopic parallax, one must first analyze a star's spectrum to determine its temperature, luminosity, and distance. The star's absolute magnitude is then calculated and compared to its apparent magnitude to determine the star's distance from Earth.

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Answer from HIX Tutor

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.