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Given the Right ascension in h m s, Declination in deg ' " and the Trigonometric parallax How can I get the cartesian (x,y,z) coordinates of a star? I'm guessing I need 3 separate formulas to get each x, y and z values.

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Why do you need Cartesian coordinates? In any event... – J. M. Dec 23 '10 at 10:09
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Then your declination corresponds to $\theta$, right ascension to $\phi$ and parallax to $r$ for a properly referenced spherical coordinate system. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spherical_coordinate_system – Ross Millikan Dec 23 '10 at 14:15
@J.M. to plot thing in openGL you need Cartesian coordinates. @Ross - Thanks I'll look into it. – Justin808 Dec 24 '10 at 20:16

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