Importance of Star Position Measurement
Why are scientists interested in obtaining accurate
measurements of star positions?
For what purposes can this information be used?
If one knows a star's position to a high degree of accuracy, then
you can start to measure the distance of the objects surrounding the
star, how far away the star and objects are away from us, how fast
they are traveling and in which direction. If all of this
information is combined then we can predict events (and more
importantly watch them closely) that might only happen once in a
millenium. It also gives us a 3-D map of the universe, which helps
us understand the physics and dynamics of our universe. A lot of
the information gathered can help us find new sources of matter and
energy and progress our understanding of the universe and the laws
that hold it together.
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Update: June 2012