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Notes on Measurements

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Kyle Resse Almryde edited this page May 12, 2015 · 1 revision

Parsec

Parsec: (symbol: pc) is a unit of length used to measure the astronomically large distances to objects outside the Solar System, and is the largest unit of length in International System of Units. A parsec is equal to about 3.26 light-years (31 trillion miles) in length. Fun Fact Most of the visible stars to the naked eye are within 500 parsecs of the Sun. Or 15,500 trillion miles away! And you thought YOU had a long trip home...

Redshift

Redshift: Is any increase in wavelength, with a corresponding decrease and frequency of elextromagnetic waves. A redshift is, in effect, a measurement of (typically) light moving AWAY from an observer. However the definition changes depending on the context.

  • Cosmological Redshift: is due to the expansion of the universe, and sufficiently distant light sources show redshift corresponding
  • Gravitational Redshift:

Blueshift

Blueshift: Is any decrease in wavelength, with a corresponding increase and frequency of elextromagnetic waves. This is the direct counter to Redshift

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