1. Distances in our Universe The universe is so large that we must use special units of measurement. Kilometers and miles just won’t cut it.

2. Astronomical Unit Distance between the Earth and the sun. Used to measure distances in our solar system.

3. Light Year The distance that light travels in one year. Light moves at a speed of 300,000 kilometers per second, or 186,000 miles per second. A light year is roughly 10 trillion kilometers, or 6 trillion miles.

4. Parasec Used to measure the distance of distant stars and galaxies. One parasec is equal to 3.26 light years. Kiloparasecs-One thousand parasecs. Megaparasec-One million parasecs. Gigaparasec-One billion parasecs.

5. Closest Objects The closest star to Earth is the sun! The second closest star to Earth is Proxima Centauri. – 4.2 light years away. The closest galaxy is the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy, which is 42,000 light years away. The closest large galaxy is the Andromeda Galaxy at almost 3 million light years!