60 (number) geometry, it is the number of seconds in a minute, and the number of minutes in a degree. In normal space, the three interior angles of an equilateral triangle each measure 60 degrees, adding up to 180 degrees. Because it is divisible by the sum of its digits in base 10, it is a Harshad number. A number system with base 60 is called sexagesimal (the original meaning of "sexagesimal" is sixtieth). It is the smallest positive integer that is written with only the smallest and the largest digit of base 2 (binary), base 3 (ternary) and base 4 (quaternary).
Skinny triangle the stations could be on opposite sides of the Earth. However, this distance is still short compared to the distance to the object being measured (the height of the triangle) and the skinny triangle solution can be applied and still achieve great accuracy. The alternative method of measuring the base angles is theoretically possible but not so accurate. The base angles are very nearly right angles and would need to be measured with much greater precision than the parallax angle in order to get the same accuracy. The same method of measuring parallax angles and applying the skinny triangle can