Light-year (Noun)
Meaning
The distance that light travels in a vacuum in 1 year; 5.88 trillion miles or 9.46 trillion kilometers.
Classification
Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure.
Examples
- The nearest star to our solar system, Proxima Centauri, is approximately 4.24 light-years away from Earth.
- The incredible speed of Voyager 1 allows it to travel about 0.006 light-years per year.
- At its current pace, the spacecraft would take thousands of years to travel just one light-year.
- In astronomy, distances between stars and other celestial objects are often measured in light-years rather than miles or kilometers.
- Alpha Centauri, a nearby star system, is about 4.37 light-years away from our planet, making it a popular target for interstellar research.