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How to measure the distance from Earth to Sun and how to calculate the time taken by light to travel to Earth's surface?
Wiki User
∙ 10y ago
The distance from the Sun to the Earth varies about 3% over the course of a year, from a minimum or "perihelion" distance of about 91,500,000 miles to a maximum or "aphelion" distance of about 94,500,000 miles. 93 million miles is a good average figure. Details of how to measure this distance are given later.
The speed of light is approximately 186,000 miles per second, or 300,000 kilometers per second. With an average distance of 93 million miles and an approximate speed of light of 186,000 miles per second, the math becomes really easy; it takes light 500 seconds to reach the Earth.
Here's one method of how to measure the distance to the Sun, using radar technology:
(You can't use radar to measure the distance to the Sun directly
because of the nature of the Sun's surface.)
1) Wait for Earth, Venus and the Sun to line up with Venus (more or less) directly between us and the Sun.
2) Measure the distance to Venus using radar.
3) Knowing the Earth to Venus distance, use Kepler's Third Law to find the Earth to Sun distance.
(Kepler's Third Law will give the ratio of the distances of Earth and Venus from the Sun. Thus, knowing the Earth to Venus distance, you can find the Earth to Sun distance.)
See the "Related Link" below for more about measuring the distance to the Sun.
Wiki User
∙ 10y ago
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