Talk:Parsec

Precision
I was trying to correct the precision of this calculation, but I think it is only a (close) approximation anyway, using the fact that tan(θ)~=θ for small θ. So, I have trimmed the number of significant digits. Ray Spalding 17:49, 19 Mar 2004 (UTC)


 * The computation offered here is not immediately clear. I think the use of the approximation tan(&theta;) ~= &theta; for small &theta; is acceptable here, but we should either mention this as a whole, or leave out any form of computation. I prefer the latter, that is, to just state that a parsec is approximately ... km / miles / etc . without any calculations.
 * Maurice Termeer 08:21, 27 Mar 2006 (UTC)

4,000,000,000,000,000 kilometers?
4,000,000,000,000,000 kilometers doesn't fit here, does it?

3.08567758 E+16 m = 4,000,000,000,000,000 kilometers is not correct. First of all there are two too many zeros. Secondly, if 1 km = 1000 m then the result would start with a 3, not a 4.

3.08567758 E+16 m = 30856775800000000 m = 30856775800000 km

Or am I missing something here???

Midavalo 8 March 2006

3262 or 3260?
Still no one has answered this.

Which is correct?

"1,000 parsecs (3,262 ly) "

or

"A megaparsec is one million parsecs, or about 3,260,000 light years" Katkahosz (talk) 07:29, 2 June 2024 (UTC)


 * According to the Oxford Dictionary of Astronomy, one parsec equals 3.2616 light years, 206,265 astronomical units, or 30.857 × 1012 km. Skeptic2 (talk) 08:24, 2 June 2024 (UTC)