Khan Academy: Stellar Parallax: Stellar Parallax

How are scientists able to measure distances between stellar bodies? Turns out it's not very easy! Learners explore the process of trigonometric parallax as the method of determining these distances. They experience the same challenges...

Sal Khan uses trigonometry to measure angles in the night sky to figure out how far we are from the nearest stars. [11:40]

Gain an understanding of Stellar Distance Using Parallax in this in depth video. [11:40]

A video discussing how astronomers use how the Earth revolves around the sun and a nearby star's apparent movement as compared to more distant stars to possibly measure distance. [7:22]

Defines the word 'parsec,' which is a unit of distance in space, and explains its origin. Also demonstrates examples where this unit of measurement would be used.

Expands upon information in an earlier video on stellar parallax, in response to a viewer's question about angles and triangles.

Determining the position of a star or other object in three-dimensional space is an important concept in astronomy. Finding stellar longitude (called right ascension) and latitude (declination) is easy enough, but it is much harder to...

Khan Academy delves into supernova (Supernovae) in this video lesson. [11:57]

Sal Khan offers a correction to his Quasar video. [1:45]

Supernova clarification based upon Sal Khan's lesson on supernovae that the explosion was observed 1,000 years ago, but the actual event was 7,500 years ago. [1:31]