Parallax

 


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 Code Number :    8B10.02

Disclaimer:

Reprinted by permission of Dick Berg, University of Maryland, for use on this website.

The demonstrations contained and referenced herein are listed for the purposes of cataloging and describing physics demonstrations which should be conducted only under the direction of a trained instructional support professional or physicist. These demonstrations are not presented for the purpose of being conducted by persons unconnected to this Facility and/or persons not consulting with or being supervised by the recognized instructional support professional or physicist and his/her staff. The University is responsible only for those demonstrations carried out using its own equipment using established safety and scheduling policies, and bears no responsibility for those choosing to use this source material for their own purposes. All demonstrations described and contained herein are public domain, and can also be found in reference materials in libraries, bookstores, and electronic sources.

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Condition :   Good  
Principle :   Object Movement Against a Distant Background. 
Area of Study :  Astronomy   
Equipment :   Monkey, patterned wall with some marked reference.

 

Procedure :   Place the monkey between the patterned wall with the black string reference and the observer.  Have the observer block one eye and note the reference point and then block the other eye and notice that the reference point changes in relation to the monkey.

Another way to do this is to move the monkey across the distant background.  Observers sitting in different places in the lecture room will have different views.

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   References

Jonathan Marr.  "Measuring the Distance to an Outer Planet by Parallax with a Camera."  TPT, Vol.  35, # 1, p. 34-36, (Jan. 1997).

 

W. A. Deutschman, "Parallax Without Pain", AJP, Vol. 45, # 5, May 1977, p. 490.

Alan Spero, "Stellar Distances by Parallax and Relative Magnitude: A Laboratory Model", AJP, Vol. 45, # 11, Nov. 1977, p. 1124.

Joe L. Ferguson, "More Parallax Without Pain", AJP, Vol. 45, # 12, Dec. 1977, p. 1221.

 

Janice VanCleave,  "Distant Stars,"  Astronomy for Every Kid - 101 Easy Experiments That Really Work, p. 134-135.

Janice VanCleave,  "Parallax: Apparent Shift of an Object."  A+ Projects in Astronomy, p. 172.

Isaac Asimov,  "Smashing the Sky,"  Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine, p. 132.

#19, "Shifting," Janice VanCleave's 203 Icy, Freezing, Frosty, Cool, and Wild Experiments.

7.32, "Velocity of Recession", Project & Demonstrations in Astronomy by D.Tattersfield, p. 176.



Mail Questions and Comments to:  Dale Stille