CLASS 8 · LEARNING KNOWLEDGE
Astronomical Units and Light Year – Basic Principles
How it works
In astronomy, distances are often given in special units because the distances are very large. The Astronomical Unit (AU) corresponds roughly to the mean distance between Earth and the Sun (about 150 million kilometers). A light year is the distance that light travels in one year in vacuum (about 9.46 trillion kilometers). Both units help present large distances in space in a clear way. Converting between kilometers, AU and light years is important in order to compare and understand distances.
Note
Astronomical Units (AU) and light years are units of length for distances in space: 1 AU ≈ 150 million km, 1 light year ≈ 9.46 trillion km. Conversions are done by multiplying or dividing by these factors.
Astronomical Units (AU) and light years are units of length for distances in space: 1 AU ≈ 150 million km, 1 light year ≈ 9.46 trillion km. Conversions are done by multiplying or dividing by these factors.
An example
How many kilometers are 2 Astronomical Units (AU)?
2 AU correspond to 2 × 150 million km = 300 million km. So: 2 AU = 300.000.000 km.
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50 Exercises
To the learning unit →Own explanation and own practice exercises by AmyMath. Subject reference framework: Astronomy. The topic assignment may vary by federal state.