Devin L- Astro distances padlet by Devin Linton

lintonde — 2025-08-28 15:40:03 UTC

An astronomical unit (AU) is a fixed unit of length that is used by astronomers to refer to the average distance between the Earth and Sun. This distance is approximately 93 million miles, which is the equivalent to 150 million kilometers. The Astronomical Unit is often used to measure the distances between planets, the asteroid belt, and orbits within our Solar System.

lintonde — 2025-08-28 15:58:20 UTC

A light hour (LH) is a unit of length equal to the distance that light travels in one hour in a vacuum. This unit refers to approximately 671 million miles, the equivalent of 1.1 billion kilometers. The light hour is often used to measure celestial bodies that are vast distances from earth but are still within the solar system.

lintonde — 2025-09-01 20:06:33 UTC

A light year (LY) is a unit of astronomical distance expressed as about 6 trillion miles, the equivalent of nearly 9.46 trillion kilometers. The light year is often used by astronomers to measure items such as interstellar objects, galactic sizes, and cosmic events.

lintonde — 2025-09-01 20:30:35 UTC

The lunar distance (LD) refers to the average distance between the Earth and Moon. This distance is about 239,000 miles, the equivalent of nearly 384,000 kilometers. This distance tends to change over time due to the elliptical shape of the Moon's orbit around Earth. The lunar distance is often used to measure Near-Earth objects, the lunar radius, and even for the measurement of distance between the Earth and Sun.

lintonde — 2025-09-01 20:42:33 UTC

A parsec (PC) is a unit of distance used in astronomy that is equal to approximately 19.2 trillion miles, or 30.9 trillion kilometers. Its name was derived from the words "parallax" and "arcsecond", due to its name being based on the parallax angle of one arcsecond. The parsec is used to measure large distances of astronomical objects outside of the Solar System. These objects include Proxima Centauri, and the Andromeda Galaxy.