Which term describes distance light travels in one year?

Which term describes distance light travels in one year?

• A. Astronomical Unit
• B. Light Year
• C. Parsec
• D. Kilometer

Answer: (B)

Distance light travels in one year is described by the term light year. Light moves incredibly fast, about 300,000 kilometers every second, so over a year (roughly 31.56 million seconds) it covers about 9.46 trillion kilometers (around 9.46 x 10^15 meters). This unit lets us express very large cosmic distances in a manageable way. An astronomical unit is the Earth–Sun distance, about 150 million kilometers, which is far smaller than a light year. A parsec is about 3.26 light-years, used for even larger galactic distances. A kilometer is simply a basic metric unit of distance, far too small to denote how far light goes in a year.

Distance light travels in one year is described by the term light year. Light moves incredibly fast, about 300,000 kilometers every second, so over a year (roughly 31.56 million seconds) it covers about 9.46 trillion kilometers (around 9.46 x 10^15 meters). This unit lets us express very large cosmic distances in a manageable way. An astronomical unit is the Earth–Sun distance, about 150 million kilometers, which is far smaller than a light year. A parsec is about 3.26 light-years, used for even larger galactic distances. A kilometer is simply a basic metric unit of distance, far too small to denote how far light goes in a year.