X-ray trigonometric parallax/Quiz

X-ray trigonometric parallax is a lecture about the theoretical possibility of using higher resolution X-ray detectors to measure stellar parallaxes. It is also a mini-lecture for a quiz section as part of the department of radiation astronomy course on the principles of radiation astronomy.

File:Sgr B2M.jpg

VLA 90-cm wavelength image, adapted from LaRosa et al. (2000), with the locations of Sgr A*, Sgr B2, and J1745–2820 indicated. Credit: M. J. Reid, K. M. Menten, X. W. Zheng, A. Brunthaler, and Y. Xu.

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Quiz

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1 Yes or No, Distance measurement by parallax is a special case of the principle of triangulation.

	Yes
	No

2 Trigonometric parallax involves which of the following?

	parsecs
	reciprocal of parallax
	arcseconds
	apparent changes in position
	lines of sight

3 Copernicus's theory provided a strikingly simple explanation for the apparent retrograde motions of the planets—namely as

displacements.

4 Radiation phenomena associated with trigonometric parallax are

	gamma-ray trigonometric parallax distances < 0.4 kpc
	X-ray trigonometric parallax distances good to 2 pc
	ultraviolet trigonometric parallax is good to ± 7 pc
	visual trigonometric parallax distances good to about 3 kpc
	infrared trigonometric parallax with an accuracy of 120 µas
	radio trigonometric parallax distances good at least to 1.86 kpc

5 Complete the text:

Trigonometric parallax measurements of pulsars are the reliable .

6 Complete the text:

Match up the type of trigonometric parallax with each of the possibilities below:

visual parallax - A

distribution function of the errors in distance - B

VLBA - C

Cygnus X-1 - D

pulse times of arrival - E

ultraviolet trigonometric parallax - F

optical annual parallax (HST) - G

continuum 'fixed' radio sources J1953+3537 and J1957+3338 .

Vela pulsar .

skewed due to non-linearity .

cloud top height .

Sgr B2M and Sgr B2N .

PSRs J1744−1134 and J1024−0719 detected at X-ray energies

χ Cyg 144 ± 25 pc (Stein 1991) .

7 Complete the text:

Match up the trigonometric parallax phenomena with the image:

stellar parallax motion - A

Very Long Baseline Array - B

radio continuum - C

Chandra X-ray Observatory spatial resolution HRC-I ~ 0.5 arcsec - D

WD 0346+246 has a trigonometric parallax measurement - E

Very Large Telescope - F

File:Proxima xray.jpg .

.

File:FORS2 image of DE1520-44.jpg .

File:Continuum Sources.jpg .

File:SSPM J2231-7514.jpg

File:Sgr B2M.jpg .

8 Which of the following is not related directly to an astronomical trigonometric parallax associated with Geminga?

	optical trigonometric parallax
	the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Observatory
	measurements of radio pulsars
	only available for the nearby pulsars
	distance value of 0.25 +0.12 or −0.06 kpc

9 True or False, For larger and trigonometrically less reliable distances, use the Wilson-Bappu magnitudes.

	TRUE
	FALSE

10 Which of the following is not an astronomical trigonometric parallax or derived from it?

	Hipparcos mission (ESA 1997), π = 15.15 ± 3.24 mas
	independent observational constraint for DA white dwarfs
	parallax distance of 357 +43 or −35 pc
	angular diameter comparison
	distance estimates
	the range of an artificial satellite

Hypotheses

Main resource: Hypotheses

1. It is possible using X-ray trigonometric parallax to fix the position of the Sun.

See also

• Astronomy/Quiz
• Green astronomy/Quiz
• Radiation astrochemistry/Quiz
• Radiation astrogeography/Quiz
• Radiation astrohistory/Quiz
• Radiation astronomy/Quiz
• Theoretical radiation astronomy/Quiz
• X-ray trigonometric parallax/Laboratory

External links

• International Astronomical Union
• NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database - NED
• NASA's National Space Science Data Center
• The SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System
• SDSS Quick Look tool: SkyServer
• SIMBAD Astronomical Database
• SIMBAD Web interface, Harvard alternate
• Spacecraft Query at NASA
• Universal coordinate converter

{{Radiation astronomy resources}}