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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.

Which of the following is not used to obtain distances of astronomical objects?

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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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