Find a term from the labs, understand the process behind it, and see how it appears in the landscape. Each entry connects an explanation with a real observation and a model you can explore.
Term
Parsec
The distance at which one astronomical unit subtends one arcsecond; about 3.26 light years, or 3.086 × 10¹⁶ m.
What to look for
Orion photographed from ESO's La Silla Observatory by Zdeněk Bardon. Stars that appear close in the sky can lie at very different distances; long exposure reveals faint gas and dust.
