Light year refers to a unit of length and is equal to the distance traveled by lights in one year. That’s right, For that light from the sun, from other stars and artificial light is also considered matter and takes a certain time to travel a certain distance.
A light year can be measured in kilometers and its measurement is equivalent to 9.46 trillion kilometers. As already mentioned, takes one year to travel this distance, but this time is considered in vacuum conditions, such as in outer space.
The lights-year unit of measurement is most often used to express astronomical distances, such as between stars and other distances on a galactic scale.
In addition, light-years are more commonly used by non-specialists and in popular science publications, as they are more easily understood by the general public. But the unit commonly used in professional astrometry is the parsec, represented by the symbol PC. Which is about 3.26 light years.
Because it includes the word year, the term light year is sometimes misinterpreted as a unit of time. Therefore, it is important to pay attention to this.
The meaning of the word light in this term cannot be confused, as it literally refers to light.
- what is lights year
Light-year is represented by the symbol ly from English light-year , the measurement is internationally recognized and is defined by the System of Astronomical Constants (IAU).
This same system of astronomical measurements also defines the speed of light as 300,000 kilometers per second. The System of Astronomical Constants has used the light-year concept since 1984 and is a way of standardizing measurements.
Before adopting the light-year measurement, the tropical was used, from 1968 to 1983, which is equivalent to 31,556,925.9747 ephemeris seconds (Ephemeris is a term used to designate celestial events or to choose astronomical positions).
Related Units
Distances between objects in a star system tend to be small fractions of light years , and are usually expressed in astronomical units.
However, the smallest units of length can be obtained by multiplying the units of time by the speed of light.
For example, the light-second , widely used in astronomy, telecommunications and relativistic physics, which is equivalent to 300,000 kilometers or 1/3 of a light-year.
Units such as the light-minute & hour, and light-day are sometimes used in popular science publications. The light month, about one twelfth of a light year , is also occasionally used for approximate measurements.
Light travels about a foot in a nanosecond. Foot (foot) is an American measure and equals 30.48 centimeters. So light travels 30.48 centimeters in a nanosecond. The term “light-foot” is also sometimes used as an informal measure of time.
The terms for defining are actually quite technical. And these are the main curiosities about the meaning of the word lights-year .
