lpetrich
Contributor
Wowzer! Pluto spacecraft sees parallax for Proxima | Space | EarthSky - June 15
reprints
New Horizons Conducts the First Interstellar Parallax Experiment | NASA - June 10
working from
New Horizons: Parallax Images
and
New Horizons: Get Involved
On April 22 of this year, the spacecraft New Horizons took a picture of the star Proxima Centauri. On April 23, it took a picture of the star Wolf 359.
Some Earth-based astronomers also took pictures of the two stars, and the NASA people assembled the pictures to make parallax pictures of the stars moving back and forth relative to the nearby background stars.
Going over to HORIZONS Web-Interface I discovered that NH was 46.859 AU from the Earth when it observed Prox Cen, and 46.851 AU away when it observed Wolf 359. That reduced distance was from the Earth moving in its orbit.
Both stars are red dwarfs, and though they are among the closest stars to the Solar System, they are very faint.
Distances: Prox Cen: 1.30 pc 4.24 ly, Wolf 359 2.41 pc 7.86 ly
pc = parsec, ly = light year
Apparent magnitudes: Prox Cen: 10.43 - 11.11, Wolf 359: 13.54
The two stars are at angles 64d and 125d relative to the direction of NH relative to the Earth.
The parallax angle for each star in this observation: Prox Cen: 32s, Wolf 359: 16s.
List of artificial objects leaving the Solar System - Voyagers 1 and 2 are still active, but their cameras were shut down 3 decades ago.
reprints
New Horizons Conducts the First Interstellar Parallax Experiment | NASA - June 10
working from
New Horizons: Parallax Images
and
New Horizons: Get Involved
On April 22 of this year, the spacecraft New Horizons took a picture of the star Proxima Centauri. On April 23, it took a picture of the star Wolf 359.
Some Earth-based astronomers also took pictures of the two stars, and the NASA people assembled the pictures to make parallax pictures of the stars moving back and forth relative to the nearby background stars.
Going over to HORIZONS Web-Interface I discovered that NH was 46.859 AU from the Earth when it observed Prox Cen, and 46.851 AU away when it observed Wolf 359. That reduced distance was from the Earth moving in its orbit.
Both stars are red dwarfs, and though they are among the closest stars to the Solar System, they are very faint.
Distances: Prox Cen: 1.30 pc 4.24 ly, Wolf 359 2.41 pc 7.86 ly
pc = parsec, ly = light year
Apparent magnitudes: Prox Cen: 10.43 - 11.11, Wolf 359: 13.54
The two stars are at angles 64d and 125d relative to the direction of NH relative to the Earth.
The parallax angle for each star in this observation: Prox Cen: 32s, Wolf 359: 16s.
List of artificial objects leaving the Solar System - Voyagers 1 and 2 are still active, but their cameras were shut down 3 decades ago.
