2007-10-01 00:15:51 · 24 answers · asked by Nellie 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
365.25 light days
2007-10-01 01:18:56 · answer #1 · answered by Feeling Mutual 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
As has been noted above a light-year is the distance travelled by light in a vacuum in one year. It's the year that's problematic, as there are various definitions for what is a year. (Add in the fact that the Earth's rotation around the sun is slowing down, so the year will get longer, as well!)
I'd like to correct what Al said: The nearest Star to the Sun, Proxima, is actually only around 4.22 light-years away- so the light from it only takes 4.22 years to reach us.
There's some debate as to whether it's part of a Trinary Star System comprising Alpha and Beta Centauri (Rigil Kentaurus and Hadar respectively). Currently the evidence seems to point to it being a True Trinary System, with Proxima orbiting it's companions every half a million years or so
2007-10-02 00:04:18 · answer #2 · answered by kevinmanktelow 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Number of days in a light year = number of hours in a mile.
2007-10-01 08:34:21 · answer #3 · answered by morningfoxnorth 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As everyone above has said. All I'd add though is you can use whatever time you want. The sun, for example, is 8 light minutes from the earth. i.e. Light takes 8 minutes to reach the earth from the sun, so if the sun exploded we wouldn't know anything about it until 8 minutes later.
A light-day would be 25,920,000,000,000 metres long! (A light-year is 365 times longer than that...)
2007-10-01 07:27:18 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I was going to say the same as the guy above. However, the number of days in a light year is 365 - same as any period of time that is one year long!
2007-10-01 07:21:05 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
There is another problem with your question. The closer you get to the speed of light, the bigger the difference in time.
98% of the speed of light over 1 year (from the speed of lights perspective) would be more like 5 years to something stationary.
2007-10-01 08:15:38 · answer #6 · answered by Daniel B 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Same as our years. The term, light years, is the distance light travels in a year of our time (8766 hrs) As one has kilometers in cars. Light years is like a measure used in space, our nearest star is in the order of fourteen light years away. Said to be the time it takes light to travel from there to here, 14 of our years.
2007-10-01 07:27:01 · answer #7 · answered by Al 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
A light year is not a measure of time, its a measure of distance.
1 light year = the distance traveled by a photon of light unobstructed in a vacuum over one normal Earth year.
2007-10-01 10:52:27 · answer #8 · answered by futuretopgun101 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Don't be so flippant people, this is an intelligent question.
Wikipedia says there is no universal definition of what the "year" in light year means, but that the International Astronomical Union recommends the Julian year of 365.25 days.
2007-10-01 07:26:27 · answer #9 · answered by GC 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
365. However, a light year is a measure of Distance, not Time.
2007-10-01 13:26:02 · answer #10 · answered by david37863 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A light year is not a measure of time but one of distance; it is so called because it is the distance which is travelled bi light in one year.
2007-10-01 12:06:30 · answer #11 · answered by general_ego 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋