Average Distance From The Sun Flashcards, test questions and answers

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What is Average Distance From The Sun?

The average distance from the Sun to Earth is approximately 93 million miles (149.6 million kilometers). This distance, known as the astronomical unit (AU), is an important part of the Solar System and helps define our place in space.Our Sun is a star in the Milky Way galaxy and one of billions of stars in this immense cosmic structure. The Milky Way is estimated to contain anywhere between 100 and 400 billion stars, depending on how far away they are located. The stars are all different distances from us, but on average they are around 25 000 light-years away. Our closest neighboring star system, Alpha Centauri, is 4.37 light-years away from us over 40 trillion kilometers. The AU provides a useful reference when discussing distances between planets in our own Solar System. For example, Venus orbits at a distance of 0.72 AU while Jupiter orbits 5 times further out at 5 AU that’s 740 million km. As we venture even further into space beyond our Solar System, we move into interstellar distances which can be incredibly vast; for example Proxima Centauri is 4.24 light-years or 25 trillion km from Earth. Even travelling close to the speed of light it would take around four years to get there. So you can see why having a handy reference such as the astronomical unit just 93 million miles or 149 million kilometers – helps astronomers navigate their way through our vast cosmos with ease.