is there a web site that can in simple terms explain some of the scientific jargon. Fow example, what is it mean when they say "light years away"? how many years is that in earth years?
2007-08-09 07:16:42 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
One light year is not a measure of time but a measure of distance.
One light year is the distance that the light travels in one year.
Knowing the speed of light is 300.000 kilometers per second, then in one year it would be 9,460,800,000,000 kilometers. Which is about 5,913,000,000,000 miles.
That's one light year.
2007-08-09 07:24:11 · answer #1 · answered by sogtulakk 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Like others above have said, a light year is a measure of distance - the amount of distance light travels in a year.
What scale you use depends on what you're measuring. The sun's distance is generally referred to in miles (or kilometers), because a light year is much too large a figure; But the next nearest star, Proxima Centauri, is 4.3 light years away, because that's how long it takes for a photon to leave that star & travel to Earth.
Take 186,282.4 miles per second as the speed of light, then multiply by 60 (for a light-minute), then by 60 again (for a light-hour), then by 24 (for a light-day), then by 365.25 days to get a light year:
186,282.4 X 60 X 60 X 24 X 365.25 = 5878625466240 miles in a light year.
2007-08-09 15:13:45 · answer #2 · answered by quantumclaustrophobe 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Simply put:
'Light years` is a distance. - The time light travels in an 'earth year` at 186 thousand, two hundred, some odd miles per second. (Got a calculator?)
It's a lot of miles, (trust me).
Because astronomical distances are so large,
we need a long yardstick.
'Light years is not a time period unless you've got another speed to which to compare them.
Very high speeds are sometimes stated in '% C`.
('C` is the speed of light).
2007-08-10 01:03:03 · answer #3 · answered by Irv S 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A light-year is not a unit of time. It is a measure of distance equal to 6,000,000,000,000 miles, which is the distance light travels in 1 year.
2007-08-09 14:48:49 · answer #4 · answered by Renaissance Man 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Amazing why this confuses people. For instance, everyone knows miles per hour is a speed, even though it mentions distance and time.
velocity = distance divided by time (eg, miles PER hour), or in formula:
v = d/t
Therefore
d = v times t
in other words, distance can be expressed in terms of speed and time; e.g
distance (in light years) = distance per year travelled (speed of light) x time (years)
You can look up most of everything in www.wikipedia.com.
2007-08-09 17:08:12 · answer #5 · answered by nick s 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
a light year is basically the amount of miles light would travel in a year
2007-08-09 14:34:57 · answer #6 · answered by teh_n00b 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
www.education.jlab.org/glossary this is a glossary for scientific terms...you may find some in there. and yes, a light year is a measure of distance.
2007-08-09 14:27:53 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
a light year is not a unit of time, it is a unit of distance.
it is the distance light travels in one year, which is about 6,000,000,000,000 miles. a long long way.
2007-08-09 14:25:42 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋