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inside of our solar system, things are relatively close together so light takes minutes and not years to get around. however outside of our solar system, the distances are soo huge that its easier to use light years (distance light travels in a year in a vacuum)
any distance can be measured in "light years" and vice versa they are both just describing terms.
Wiki User
∙ 15y ago
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoBecause it's a measure of how far light can travel in a year's time. It's distance.
Why isn't a month a measure of temperature?
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoDistance. A light year is the distance that light travels in a year. The reason the speed of light is used is because it is constant at ~ 330,000 miles / sec.
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoYes. It is equal to just under 10 trillion kilometers or the distance light travels in a vacuum in 1 year.
Wiki User
∙ 10y agobecause the unit light year is too large for the distances in the solar system. By using it, you will get many decimals, and the number will be awkward
Wiki User
∙ 8y agoBecause it's light-minutes away.
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What can you use light years for?
Light years are used to measure the great distances of space. One light year is about 5.86 trillion miles. This is the distance light travels in one year's time.
What unit do you use to measure distance in your galaxy?
light years are used as a type of measurement to calculate the distance between planets, astronomical units are used to measure how far away a planet is from earth.
Do you use meters to measure the distance between stars?
Meters can be used; however, in practice, such distance are usually measured in parsecs, or (in popular astronomical literature) in light-years.
Why do you need to use light years to measure distance between stars?
You don't really. You can just as well use the SI unit of length - the meter - and express the numbers in scientific notation. But most people prefer the smaller numbers that appear when using light-years or parsecs.
How a light year is a measure of distance AND why it is necessary to use light years as a unit of measure?
1. We know how fast light travels, therefore in 1 year it must travel a fixed distance. For this purpose astronomers use the Julian year of 365.25 days, making a light year 9.460730473 times 10 to the power 15 metres.. 2. It is used as a unit of distance to describe distances of stars and galaxies, mainly because to express these distances in kilometres would give unmanageably large numbers.
What unit would you use to measure the distances from stars?
To measure the distance of stars you have to measure by light years.
What unit of distance would you use to measure the distance between two stars?
Light Years.
What do you use to measure the distance between stars?
you use light years, and other units
When should you use light years?
Light years are used to measure distance from Earth to distant stars and planets.
What unit do astronomers usually use to measure the distance to a star?
They use light years, the distance light can travel in 1 year. It's equivalent to 5878499810000 miles.
What unit of distance do astronomers use to measure distances to stars?
Usually light-years, or parsecs.
What measurement do scientists use for the distance between stars and Earth?
scientists use light-years to measure long distances in space. a light year, (abrviated ly) is the distance light can travel.
How do astonomers measure the distance to nearby stars?
Astronomers use the unit of measure "Light Years" to calculate the distance between pretty much anything in the Universe.
Why do astronomers use light year to measure time in space?
They don't. Light years are a distance measurement, not a time measurement.
Is a unit used to indicate the distance of star?
Most of the time we use light years, but their are other units to measure distance such as parsecs and arcminutes.
What do you use to measure the distance to far away stars?
Light years, parsecs, and kiloparsecs. Light years and parsecs are used to measure distances between neighbouring star system's, kiloparsecs are used to measure distances within a galaxy.
What can you use light years for?
Light years are used to measure the great distances of space. One light year is about 5.86 trillion miles. This is the distance light travels in one year's time.
