Question

After the Sun, the closest star to Earth is Proxima Centauri. The next closer star is called Rigel Kentaurus (aka, Alpha Centauri). Rigel Kentaurus is about 4.3 light-years from Earth. How many parsecs away is Rigel Kentaurus?

Answer 1

Rigel Kentaurus, or Alpha Centauri, is approximately 1.32 parsecs away from Earth, calculated by dividing the distance in light-years (4.3) by the conversion factor of 1 parsec being equivalent to 3.26 light-years.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the distance from Rigel Kentaurus (Alpha Centauri) to Earth in parsecs, we would use the conversion factor where 1 parsec equals 3.26 light-years.

Since Rigel Kentaurus is about 4.3 light-years away from Earth, we can convert this distance to parsecs by dividing the number of light-years by 3.26.

The calculation would be: 4.3 light-years ÷ 3.26 light-years/parsec = 1.32 parsecs.

Hence, Rigel Kentaurus is approximately 1.32 parsecs away from Earth.