What are the types of distance units that astronomers use?

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1252017

2026-07-22 01:05

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For small distances, e.g. Earth to Moon, scientists use miles of kilometers. For larger distances, e.g. the orbit diameter of Jupiter, they use the "AU" or Astronomical Unit, which is the distance from the Sun to Earth. For enormous distances, astronomers use the lightyear, which, although it sounds like a time unit, is truly a distance unit. A lightyear is the distance light travels in one year, or 5.87849981 × 1012 miles. Another unit for large distances is the Parsec, which is 3.26 lightyears.

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