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Title: What's the difference between a light year and an Astronomical unit? Post by: rmountel on Apr 5, 2013 A light year is the distance that light travels in a vacuum in one year. An AU is the measure within the solar system equal to the mean distance from Earth to Sun.
Title: What's the difference between a light year and an Astronomical unit? Post by: Snowflakes on Apr 5, 2013 That depends on wether or not you have hemroids or asteroids, and which hemisphere your in!
Title: What's the difference between a light year and an Astronomical unit? Post by: topoelpibe21 on Apr 5, 2013 Ok.... so you just answered your question. You got it right too.
Title: What's the difference between a light year and an Astronomical unit? Post by: topoelpibe21 on Apr 5, 2013 You uhhh answered your own question. A light year is a lot bigger then an AU. For comparison, light takes just 8 minutes to travel to earth from the sun (and thus travel one AU).
Title: What's the difference between a light year and an Astronomical unit? Post by: topix129 on Apr 5, 2013 So you're asking what the difference is in miles? That's rather complex for calculators or anything. (186000 times 31536000) minus astronomical unit distance.
Scientific Notation: (5.865696 * 10^12) - AU About 5.86 trillion miles minus the distance of an AU. I think around 5865603000000 miles, or 5.865603 trillion. Not very big in proportion. Title: What's the difference between a light year and an Astronomical unit? Post by: SNF42250 on Apr 5, 2013 One light year = 6 trillion miles & one AU = 93 million miles so one light year = 64516.129 AU
Title: What's the difference between a light year and an Astronomical unit? Post by: topix129 on Apr 5, 2013 You've got the definitions. So an AU is about 8.5 light minutes. Put another way, a light year is about 6 trillion miles, an AU only 93 million. So a lightyear is almost 700,000 AU.
Title: What's the difference between a light year and an Astronomical unit? Post by: smither on Apr 5, 2013 An AU is the distance between the Sun And the Earth...about 94 million miles. A ly is the distance light travels in a year...about 6 trillion miles
Title: What's the difference between a light year and an Astronomical unit? Post by: topsecretmomm on Apr 5, 2013 Another viewpoint is that 1 AU is 500 light seconds, i.e., the distance that light travels in 500 seconds. This is contrasted with a light year, wherein light travels for 31.6 million seconds, or 63,000 times longer, or farther, however, you want to look at it.
Title: What's the difference between a light year and an Astronomical unit? Post by: TOPPINGS on Apr 5, 2013 You seem to have the answer....though an AU CAN CHANGE....depending on where the Earth is atm. I believe, not sure, but at close range a AU is about 7 mins and at furthist distance, about 7.5 mins....totally not sure on that and only thing I'm trying to point out here is an AU can change.
Title: What's the difference between a light year and an Astronomical unit? Post by: SNELMENDORF on Apr 5, 2013 "A light year is the distance that light travels in a vacuum in one year. An AU is the measure within the solar system equal to the mean distance from Earth to Sun."
Does the answer look familiar? It's what you wrote and is exactly correct :) |