Suppose that a star forms an angle theta with respect to Earth and the sun. Let the coordinates of Earth be (x,y), those of the star (0,0), and those of the sun (x,0). Find an equation for x, the distance between the sun and the star, as follows:
a) write an equation involving a trigonometric funtion that relates x, y, and angle theta;
b) solve your equation for x.
In the accompanying figure, the star is at the point of origin, Earth is in quadrant I, and the line dropping from Earth to the sun forms a 90 degree angle with the x-axis. Not to scale, of course.
Any takers?
