re: So what does this mean for the rest of our celestial neighbors?
Hipparcos'paralax measurement accuracy of course decreased linearly with distance. It was good enough to give us a better calibration of the next step, the standard Cephied candle. It is amazing how inaccuarcies to what we've come to rely on established measurements can arise. But better a 20% re-do than the 2x error on Cephieds found in the 1950s.