Parallax is the apparent change in position of an object when viewed from different positions. It can be used to measure distances to celestial objects. Stellar parallax involves measuring the difference in the position of a nearby star observed from opposite sides of Earth's orbit around the Sun. This allows astronomers to determine the star's distance using trigonometry. In 1989, the Hipparcos satellite improved parallax measurements for over 100,000 nearby stars. The Gaia satellite, launched in 2013, can measure parallax angles to greater accuracy, mapping stars up to tens of thousands of light years away.