A wide open space (It could be your backyard or a park.) Two Hula-Hoops (Alternatively, you could use two flat rocks or bricks that you can sit on.) A yardstick or meterstick (Use one that has clear ...

Let’s try a demonstration that we all enjoyed in elementary school. Close one eye, hold out your thumb at arm’s length, and align it with an object on the other side of the room. Without moving your ...

For the first time, astronomers have directly measured the distance to a spot clear across the galaxy. The established but challenging technique promises a new way to map the structure of the Milky ...

The universe is so vast that even the closest stars are light-years away. They are so distant that they were long thought to be fixed points in the velvet night. Since we can't yet travel to the stars ...

Determining distance is one of astronomy’s greatest challenges. For nearby objects, astronomers rely on parallax, which causes nearby stars to shift against the seemingly stationary background of more ...

How do scientists calculate the distance from Earth to a star or galaxy? originally appeared on Quora - the knowledge sharing network where compelling questions are answered by people with unique ...

Try this experiment: extend your thumb at arm’s length and close one eye at a time. Your thumb will seem to ‘jump’ between two positions as you switch the eye that is closed. That jump is known as ...

Distance measured out to the far side of our Milky Way means that radio astronomers now can work on producing an accurate map of the full extent of our galaxy's structure for the first time.

For the first time, astronomers have directly measured the distance to a spot clear across the galaxy. The established but challenging technique promises a new way to map the structure of the Milky ...