Question 1

How long does light take to travel 1 AU?

Accepted Answer

Light takes about 8 minutes 20 seconds (8.317 light-minutes) to travel 1 AU. This is why sunlight reaching Earth is already 8+ minutes old.

Question 2

What is a light-minute?

Accepted Answer

A light-minute is the distance light travels in one minute: about 17.99 million km. The Sun is 8.3 light-minutes from Earth.

Question 3

Is this conversion factor exact?

Accepted Answer

Metric-to-metric conversions are exact (1 km = 1000 m). Imperial-to-metric factors like 1 inch = 2.54 cm are exact by international agreement.

Question 4

Why do some countries use different units?

Accepted Answer

Historical reasons - the metric system spread from France after 1795. The US, UK, and a few others retained older systems. Science uses metric worldwide.

Au to Light minutes Distance Converter - Free Online Tool

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