ManifestDragon Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 What I mean is how did scientists figure out the width of our galaxy (in light-years) or how far away Proxima Centauri is? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beecee Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 17 minutes ago, ManifestDragon said: What I mean is how did scientists figure out the width of our galaxy (in light-years) or how far away Proxima Centauri is? Thanks. Measuring distances to stars is simple....stellar parallax. Measure its position tonight, then again in 6 months time. More distant objects such as galaxies are measured using Ceipeid Variables and type 1a Supernova, which are at a known brightness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janus Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_distance_ladder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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