1. Astronomical Distances

2. Distances between objects in outer space can be so vast that to measure them in terrestrial units would require huge numbers. For this reason, astronomers have come up with alternate units for measuring distance in the solar system, and beyond.

3. Light Distance The distance light can travel in a unit of time Light, travelling in a vacuum, can go 300,000 kilometers every second (186,000 miles per second)

4. Light Distance The distance light can travel in a unit of time Light year-9,460,730,472,581 kilometers Light day-(calculate please) Light hour-(calculate please) Light minute-(calculate please) Light second-(calculate please)

5. The Astronomical Unit (AU) The average distance from the Earth to the Sun is one astronomical unit. 1 AU = 149,597,870.7 km (92,955,807.27 mi)

6. The Parsec The parsec is a measure of the distance from the sun to any distant celestial body. 1 degree of arc is equal to 60 minutes of arc 1 arc minute is equal to 60 seconds of arc 1 arc second is equal to 1 parsec A parsec is equal to 3.26 light years The word “parsec” is an abbreviation of “distance corresponding to a parallax of one second of arc”.

7. The Parsec

8. PlanetLight Distance Kilometers (millions) AU Mercury3.2 minutes Venus6.0 minutes Earth8.3 minutes Mars12.7 minutes Jupiter43.3 minutes Saturn1.3 hours Uranus2.7 hours Neptune4.2 hours Pluto/Charon5.4 hours