I'm working on one question for my astronomy homework, and can't solve the problem without knowing this: How do I convert a measurement in arseconds into AU? Here's the wording for this portion of the question:
"The apparent length of the semimajor axis as seen through a telescope is 4.5 arcseconds." But I need to know how many astronomical units this converts to in order to find the masses...
Basically, I'm an English major. Sure, give me an equation, I'll solve it. But it's not doing that!!!
2007-02-28 19:43:02 · 2 answers · asked by Anonymous in Education & Reference ➔ Homework Help
Use the small angle equation to find the distance. You need this first before you can determine the equivalent A.U.
2007-02-28 19:50:12 · answer #1 · answered by NJGuy 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You cannot tell the length from arc-seconds without knowing the distance to the object. If that distance is D, the length is D*ϕø/648000; where ø is the observed angle in arc-sec. If D is given in AU, the result is in AU.
2007-02-28 20:12:47 · answer #2 · answered by gp4rts 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋