What is 3230 light years?

Answer 1

It is a measure of DISTANCE. It is the time and distance a photon of light will travel at the Speed of Light', from its source to reach the Earth (Observer).

A photon of light has a speed of 3.8 x 10^(8) m/s or 3.8 x 10^(5) km/s

So in one year there are 3600 x 365 = 1314000 seconds.

Hence a photon of light will travel 3.8 x 10^(5) km/s X 1314000 S = 4.9932 x 10^(11) km in one year.

So in 3230 years a photon of light will travel

4.9932 x 10^(11) km x 3230 = 1.61 x 10^(15) km

or

or in figures 1.610,000,000,000.000 km or 1. 0 x 10^(15) miles.

NB THe figures are so large, that a different system ( Light year) is used to make the numbers more manageable.

NNB The figures, numbers I have given are only approximations.

Answer 2

A light year is a measurement of distance, not time. It is the distance that light travels in a year. Light travels at about 186,000 miles per second, or 300,000 kilometres per second. There are over 31.5 million seconds in a year. So 3230 light years is a massive distance.