Question

Proxima Centauri, our nearest star except for the sun, is about 4·1013 km from Earth. Find to one decimal place its distance in parsecs.

Answer 1

Explanation:

The conversion for parsecs into meters is

1 parsec (pc) =
`3.09×10^(16)\:\text {m}`

So if Proxima Centauri is
`4×10^(13)\:\text{m}` away, then in terms of parsecs, this distance is

`4×10^(13)\:\text{m}×\left(\frac{1\:\text{parsec}}{3.09×10^(16)\:\text{m}}\right)`

`\;\;\;\;\;= 1.2×10^(-3)\:\text{parsec}`