Light Time (Noun)
Meaning
Distance measured in terms of the speed of light (or radio waves); "the light time from Jupiter to the sun is approximately 43 minutes".
Classification
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects.
Examples
- The light time from Mars to Earth varies from 3 to 22 minutes depending on the relative positions of the two planets.
- Astronomers carefully track the light time between Earth and deep space probes to synchronize communication and navigation systems.
- The one-way light time from Voyager 1 to Earth is approximately 20 hours, limiting real-time communication possibilities.
- Because of its distance, the light time from a spacecraft on Pluto to Earth can range from 4.28 to 4.45 hours.
- The light time between the nearest star outside our solar system and Earth is about 4.24 years, greatly complicating communication possibilities.