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Astronomers use trigonometry

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Not the Nobel prize in 1916

at a glance

The cosmic distance ladder

The measurement of distances to remote astronomical objects involves a series of steps known as a distance ladder. When a step builds on previous ones to extend the scale to larger distances, uncertainties in measurement accumulate

Distances in the inner solar system can be found by timing laser pulses and radar (1). Kepler’s second law of planetary motion describes how orbital radius, r, depends on period, T:

T2= kr3

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Previous

Astronomers use trigonometry

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Not the Nobel prize in 1916

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