If not a laser or radio signal, then how? You gave me 2 links above and neither one of them tells us how they measured the distance from the earth to the sun. You need at least 2 values to complete the equation. Point A to B would be 1 value. You don't have to be an "expert" in a white lab coat to figure that out. Without proof, or a way to even measure it for ourselves, all you have is a theory.
It is not "pointless" to question everything.
It depends on your motives. Don't you think others would have questioned this over the last few thousand years? I don't know the full details, but I did experiments at school to measure electromagnetic forces, gravity and the speed of light. There will be loads of other articles and videos with more details on solar geometry. Google will provide.
People do not just take these things on trust. The scientific method you dismiss is about reproducing results. If anyone could disprove a major theory it would be big news. Gravity is a really robust one and is used every day by all sorts of people.
In recent decades we have sent probes out around the solar system and some go relatively close to the Sun. Maybe you don't believe in those, but many thousands of people would need to be in on the conspiracy.
Scepticism is good, but you have to decide what counts as evidence. Opinions do not.
Anyway you can live your whole life treating the Earth as flat unless you are doing actual science and engineering that would be affected. Why stress out about it? Most people don't care.
My "motives" are the truth. The scientfic method that you dismiss is how we reach the truth, we prove it and we know.
Belief is the enemy of knowing.
You believe they sent probes (little spaceships that flew 93 million miles away and sent us radio signals back from there). Again, you have no proof of that, you just trust it and believe it.
Actual science requires testable, observable, measurable and repeatable facts, not just belief.
Without knowing, all you can do is believe. That's not good enough for me.
I'm not dismissing the scientific method at all. Some proofs are complex and you or I may need deep study to understand them, but others spend their lives on them. Are you dismissing their work?
We had a flat-earther at Hivefest and also a CERN physicist. Which of those do you think could best argue their case? Just because something is beyond your comprehension does not make it impossible.
Find an astronomer who will explain things better than I can. There are Q&A sites for that. Maybe ask Elon Musk about his rocket company.
I cannot prove all these things for myself, but I trust that scientists have been held to account. If someone has a different model then they need to open it to scrutiny.
You are completely dismissing the scientific method. Your unwavering belief in their expertise (so called) and star trek probes is what has you convinced that the white lab coat people are not wrong, and not pandering to their higher authority.
Who is their higher authority? If you ever attended a University, you should know. Want funding? Get your work with their variable values signed off on. That's how easy it is. Want us to license you or give you a fancy Certificate? Regurgitate what our books say. Easy.
Once you start doing actual research and using values in the equation that are facts, then you can reach the truth and know the laws of nature.
Belief is the enemy of knowing. You must use the scientific method.
Peer review is the scientific method. My belief is based on centuries of science, not some YouTubers. If every scientist had to verify each theory for themselves they would never get anything done.
You dismiss people who spend their lives in science. There's not enough money in the world to buy their complicity. Most scientists are not rich.
I'm done with this until you come back with actual evidence. That can be a peer reviewed paper. YouTube is not acceptable.
No, Peer Review is the controllers of the curriculum determining if you have regurgitated their correct answers.
Your belief system is not based on provable facts. Detracting from the point is not proving to us how they measure such insane distances.
I want the provable facts. The scientific method. Can you prove every variable in the equation, or is one of the variables a belief in a pseudo-scientific theory..
Youtube cgi is not acceptable, you're right.
I do not want to join their cult, sorry. If proof cannot be demonstrated, then all you have is theory.