2007-03-26 07:26:12 · 8 answers · asked by Jessy 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
The earth is approximately 93,000,000 miles from the sun. Light travels at 186,000 miles per second. Divide 93 million by 186,000 and you get 500 seconds. Divide 500 by 60 to get the minutes and it comes out 8.33 minutes.
2007-03-26 07:36:02 · answer #1 · answered by Twizard113 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Distance (centre to centre) Sun-Earth:
mean distance = 149,597,871 km
at perihelion (3 Jan. 2007) = 147,093,602 km
at aphelion (6-7 July 2007) = 152,097,053 km
Speed of light = 299,792.458 km/s
Times (centre to centre) :
mean = 499.00 seconds = 8 m 19 s (this is the most quoted)
perigee = 490.65 s = 8 m 10.65 s
apogee = 507.34 s = 8 m 27.34 s
Sun's radius = 696,265 km
Earth's equatorial radius = 6,378 km.
For a person on Earth's surface, at a latitude of almost 23 South, on Jan. 3, with the Sun at the zenith:
the closest point on the Sun's surface is at
146,390,959 km
Time = 488.3 s = 8 m 8.3 s
That is the fastest that light from the Sun could have reached a spot on Earth's surface in 2007.
2007-03-26 07:50:35 · answer #2 · answered by Raymond 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
About 8 minutes.
Interesting that light generated in the core of the sun takes about 1-million years to work its up through the 432,000 miles to the surface, but only 8 minutes to cross the 93-million miles of space to Earth.
2007-03-26 07:36:28 · answer #3 · answered by Chug-a-Lug 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
'Braxton_...' - Sir, you are 'light years' ahead of the 'pack'. The little tidbit about how long the 'light', per se, takes to reach the sun's surface and be emitted as such was something I didn't know!! Thanks for the info.
My apologies to the asker - my answer would have been redundant - the chance to give someone who appears to have the 'goods' to be an 'informative' Y!Aer some credit was too good to pass up - plus the 'thumbs up'.
'raymond', dear fellow - thou dost run on with infinite useless detail. Showing one's affinity for such can be enough to make the asker to get the simplest form of the answer elsewhere. Great mind, no doubt, but don't show off! If the asker(I assume) has to ask this question, your arithmetical diatribe is useless to him. 'Nuff said. (no offense meant). Mark B.
2007-03-26 07:56:48 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
About 8 minutes.
If the sun was to stop shining NOW, it would take 8 minutes for us on earth to notice!
2007-03-26 08:34:36 · answer #5 · answered by Wedge 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It takes 8.33 seconds.
2007-03-26 08:52:41 · answer #6 · answered by bandy6842 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
About 8.3 minutes.
2007-03-26 07:29:56 · answer #7 · answered by Bramblyspam 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
i dunno
2007-03-28 05:04:16 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋