| parallax | angle | The difference in apparent direction of an object as seen from two different locations; conversely, the angle at the object that is subtended by the line joining two designated points. Geocentric (diurnal) parallax is the difference in direction between a topocentric observation and a hypothetical geocentric observation. Heliocentric or annual parallax is the difference between hypothetical geocentric and heliocentric observations; it is the angle subtended at the observed object by the semi-major axis of the Earth's orbit. First trigonometric parallax was obtained in 1838. (eee also horizontal parallax.) |
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