2006-09-27 11:34:08 · 10 answers · asked by ghostgirl 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
dr. j, if this is so, and the speed of light is 186,000 mi. per SECOND, why wouldnt a light YEAR be a measure of time???????
2006-09-27 11:41:18 · update #1
a light year is a unit of distance not time.
It is equal to the distance light travels in one year.
Regarding your note:
A light year is by definition the distance light travels in vacumm in one year. It can not be a unit of time because it is defined as a unit of distance. Perhaps your question is somewhat different such as how many years will take light to travel one light year. Answer: 1
2006-09-27 11:35:59 · answer #1 · answered by Dr. J. 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
how many EARTH YEARS are in a LIGHT YEAR?
dr. j, if this is so, and the speed of light is 186,000 mi. per SECOND, why wouldnt a light YEAR be a measure of time???????
You are actually asking 2 different questions here. As to your first question there is one earth year in a light year (however it would take the space shuttle 37200 years to travel the distance of a light year)
As to the second part of your question, it is measuring time (1year) and distance 5865696000000 miles (9460800000000 kilometers). Mostly it is used as a measure of distance equal to 1 Au (Au= astronomical unit). So it is not a measurement of time because it is still equal to only one year. I hope that answers your question accurately.
2006-09-28 04:10:10 · answer #2 · answered by hate dept 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Light year and an earth year represent the same amount of TIME, but the light year is a measurement of how far light travels in a standard earth year. It is a distance measurement, not a time measurement.
2006-09-27 19:03:10 · answer #3 · answered by Dave 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
A light-year is the distance light can travel in one year. There's also a light-minute (distance light travels in one minute) and a light-second (distance light travels in one second). These are very handy distance units in astronomy - we can say the Sun is 8.3 light-minutes away from Earth instead of saying it is 93 million miles away - it takes light from the Sun 8.3 minutes to travel to Earth. If the Sun were to disappear right now, we wouldn't know about it for another 8.3 minutes. Neat, eh?
2006-09-27 23:15:29 · answer #4 · answered by kris 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
An earth year is the TIME it takes for the Earth to orbit the Sun.
A light year is the DISTANCE light travels in 1 Earth year.
So to answer you question - 1 Earth Year = 1 Light Year.
2006-09-27 18:53:42 · answer #5 · answered by T F 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
A light year isn't a measure of time.It's a measure of how far light travels in one year.It is equivalent to 9.46 million million km.
2006-09-27 20:26:45 · answer #6 · answered by That one guy 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A light year is the same as a regular year, but with fewer calories.
2006-09-27 19:46:48 · answer #7 · answered by Nomadd 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
a light year is the distance a particul of light travels in one year.
2006-09-27 21:18:46 · answer #8 · answered by hondacobra 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
a light year is ONE year. it is the distance light travels in one year. it is a distance only.
2006-09-27 18:56:34 · answer #9 · answered by iberius 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
A year is a year or the time it takes for the earth to orbit the sun.
2006-09-27 18:38:22 · answer #10 · answered by Fredrick Carley 2 · 0⤊ 3⤋