Question

Proxima Centauri, our nearest star except for the sun, is about 4·1013 km from Earth. Find to one decimal place its distance in parsecs.

Answer 1

Step-by-step explanation:

The conversion for parsecs into meters is

1 parsec (pc) = $3.09×10^{16}\:\text {m}$

So if Proxima Centauri is $4×10^{13}\:\text{m}$ away, then in terms of parsecs, this distance is

$4×10^{13}\:\text{m}×\left(\dfrac{1\:\text{parsec}}{3.09×10^{16}\:\text{m}}\right)$

$\;\;\;\;\;= 1.2×10^{-3}\:\text{parsec}$