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Light seconds, light years, light centuries: How to measure extreme distances - Yuan-Sen Ting

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TEDEd Animation

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When we look at the sky, we have a flat, two-dimensional view. So how do astronomers figure the distances of stars and galaxies from Earth? Yuan-Sen Ting shows us how trigonometric parallaxes, standard candles and more help us determine the distance of objects several billion light years away from Earth.

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Meet The Creators

  • Director Jeremiah Dickey
  • Educator Yuan-Sen Ting, Gautham Narayan, Amali Vaz
  • Narrator Addison Anderson

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