Everyone relies on numbers to express distance, but when distances are immense, too many digits have to be used to make sense.
For example, the distance between Los Angeles and New York is 14,710,080 feet, or 2,786 miles (5,280 feet = 1 mile).
We don’t have to use as many digits in miles as in feet.
To express distance in space, astronomers most commonly use measures called astronomical units, light-years, and parsecs.
An astronomical unit can also refer to the mean distance between the Earth and the Sun over one Earth orbit.
One astronomical unit is equal to about 149,597,870.7 kilometers, or 92,955,801 miles, as defined by the International Astronomical Union.
Related Posts
-
What Is an Astronomical Unit and How Is the Astronomical Unit Used To Measure Distances In Space?
The astronomical unit (AU) measures the relatively short distances within our solar system. One AU is the mean distance from Earth to the Sun, about 93 million miles. We can say that Pluto's…
-
What Is Astronomical Transit and What Does Astronomical Transit Mean To Astronomers?
Astronomical transit occurs when a smaller celestial object passes in front of a larger one. For instance, all inferior planets will cross the face of the Sun at some point in their orbits.…
-
How Do We Measure the Distance Between Stars?
The distances that astronomers deal with when they measure the distance between stars, or between stars and planets, are so great that there would be almost no room on this page to express…
-
How Can You Measure Distance By Degrees Just By Looking At the Sky?
Without looking at star maps as a reference, you can estimate degrees of distance in the celestial sphere by using a couple of tricks. In general, if you hold your hand in a…
-
How Can We Use Trigonometry To Measure the Distance Of a Star From Earth and How Long Does It Take?
In the same way that surveyors measure distances of uncharted land, by creating three points of a triangle, astronomers measure the distances of the stars. Mathematically, using trigonometry, if you know the length…
-
Who Discovered Units of Energy, Calories, and that Energy can be converted from one form to another?
We now know that mechanical work, electricity, momentum, heat, magnetic force, etc., can be converted from one to another. There is always a loss in the process, but it can be done. That…
