Stellar parallax measurement divided astronomers for a long time

Stellar parallax is an apparent change in the position of a star allowing its distance to be calculated using trigonometry. Its detection was so difficult that it sparked lively debates in astronomy for hundreds of years. The first successful measurements were finally obtained between 1832 and 1838 by Thomas Henderson, Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve and Friedrich Bessel for the stars Alpha Centauri, Vega and 61 Cygni.