One astronomical unit is the approximate mean distance between the Earth and sun. Read more about this image at Wikimedia Commons.īottom line: Astronomers like to list the distances to objects within our solar system (planets, dwarf planets, asteroids, comets, spacecraft, etc.) in terms of the astronomical unit, or AU. Smallest yellow sphere is one light-week. Oort Cloud: 5,000 to 100,000 AU Largest circle with yellow arrow indicates one light year from our sun. Image via NASAįarthest spacecraft: Voyager 1: 137.053 AU (as of October 2016) Sedna: 518.57 AU Artist’s rendering of the Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud, the distant icy realm of the solar system. Artist’s concept of the dwarf planet Eris, whose distance from the sun varies from 38.255 to 97.661 au. If you want to find out the distances of the solar system planets from the Earth and sun right now, click here or here. Mean distance ( semi-major axis) from sun to each planet, in AU. Distances from the sun of planets in our solar system, expressed in A.U. When our planet swings out to aphelion – its farthest point, in July – we’re about 1.017 AU away from the sun. For instance, when the Earth is at perihelion – its nearest point to the sun for the year, in January – it’s about 0.983 AU from the sun. Astronomers give the Earth’s changing distance throughout the year relative to the astronomical unit, too. So Earth’s distance from the sun changes throughout the year. More exactly, one astronomical unit (AU) = 92,955,807 miles (149,597,871 km).Įarth’s orbit around the sun isn’t a perfect circle. An AU is approximately 93 million miles (150 million km). For general reference, we can say that one astronomical unit (AU) represents the mean distance between the Earth and our sun. Mean distance to Kuiper Belt, farthest spacecraft, Oort Cloud, in AU.Īmount of distance in a light-year, in AUĭefinition of astronomical unit. Mean distance from sun to some dwarf planets, in AU. Mean distance from sun to each planet, in AU. How far is that? Follow the links below to learn more about this basic distance unit in our solar system. Image via NASA.Īstronomers like to list the distances to objects within our solar system (planets, dwarf planets, asteroids, comets, spacecraft, etc.) in terms of an astronomical unit. One astronomical unit = the average distance between them. more definition+In relation to the base unit of => (meters), 1 Kilometers (km) is equal to 1000 meters, while 1 Astronomical Unit (au) = 149597870700 meters.Artist’s concept of Earth and sun. However, that distance varies as Earth orbits the Sun, f.
The astronomical unit (symbol au, or ua) is a unit of length, roughly the distance from Earth to the Sun. The kilometer (SI symbol: km) or kilometre (British spelling) is a unit of length in the metric system, equal to 1000 meters (kilo- being the SI prefix for 1000). This calculator has been rewritten so that units can be in seconds, hours, days, kilometers, miles, astronomical units or light years. A more complex problem is at the end of this page. You can use this example for practice with this calculator.
ASTRONOMICAL UNIT CALCULATOR HOW TO
How to convert Kilometers to Astronomical Unit (km to au)?ġ x 6.6845871222684E-9 au = 6.6845871222684E-9 Astronomical Unit.Īlways check the results rounding errors may occur. 3873 astronomical units or 35,980,000 miles or 57,890,000 kilometers.
The base unit for length is meters (SI Unit) Conversion: Kilometers to Astronomical Unit