Question

How many earth years does it take to equal one light year?

Oct 4 at 9:8

Answer

light year is a measure of distance

earth year is a measure of time

You might as well ask what the temperature of the color blue is.

However, we can determine how many years it will take the earth to travel the distance of one light year

1 ly =

300 000 km/second * 86400 second/day * 365.25 day/year =

9467280000000 km/year =

9.46728 x 10^12 km/year

Now, we can estimate the distance that the earth travels in 1 year. Since the eccentricity of the earth's orbit around the sun is so small, we can say (for this exercise's purpose) that the earth travels in a circular orbit with a radius of 1AU (149.6 x 10^6 km)

2 x pi x 149.6 x 10^6 km =

298.6 x pi x 10^6 km =

938.07956636191226100494531424726 x 10^6 km =

9.3807957 x 10^8 km

(9.46728 x 10^12 km / year) / (9.3807957 x 10^8 km) =

1.0092193 x 10^4 years

It'd take the earth roughly 10092 years to travel the distance that light travels in 1 year.

Oct 3 at 10:27

actually a light year measures space not time. it's the distance that light travels in space in one year

Oct 3 at 14:13

There is no direct way to convert between the two. Light years measure distance, whereas years measure time. A light year is the distance that light travels in a vacuum over the course of one Earth year.

Oct 3 at 18:23

i'm not sure that there is an answer to this question

what is trying to be conveyed you is that Light travels at the speed of 186,000 miles per second,

so if you had a way to travel at that speed it would take light years to reach your objective.

the best way i can think of is to try to put this in perspective is

i believe the sun is approximately93,000,000 million miles away. it would take light from the earth to the sun approx. 8.333333 seconds to reach the sun.

it seems to me you would have to multiply--60 seconds (min) times 60 minutes- times 24 times 365 1/4 days to get to only 1 year. seems to me the answer would be unfathomable

Oct 3 at 22:55

Your question is comparing apples to oranges. A light year is a measurement of distance. Light in open space travels at a distance of 186,282.397 miles per second. If you multiply the number of second in a whole year by 186,282.397 then that will equal one light year. It is also the distance that light travels in one year through the vacuum of open space, which equals just under six trillion miles.

Oct 4 at 3:50

This is like asking how many seconds it takes to equal one kilometre.

A light year is a distance, not a time. It's the distance at which light takes to travel in one earth year. If you travel at the speed of light for one earth year, you will have traveled one light year.

Oct 4 at 9:8

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How many earth years does it take to equal one light year?
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