How many light-years away is the moon?
The distance from the Earth to the moon is 3.96 x 10−8 light-years.
If we measure in kilometers, the distance from the Earth to the moon is around 384 400 km (238 855 miles) on average. Since light travels at 300,000 kilometers per second, it takes 1.25 seconds for the moon's reflected sunlight to reach the Earth.
We now know how distant the moon is from the Earth in light-years; therefore, we have also added a section explaining how far the other planets are away from the Earth in light-years, but before we get into that, it is pertinent to understand what a light-year is.
What is a light-year?
A light-year is a unit of length used in astronomy to describe distances. It is the distance traveled by the beam of light in one earth year.
Light travels at 186,000 miles (300,000 kilometers) per second and 5.88 trillion miles (9.46 trillion kilometers) per year over interstellar space. Light-years make astronomical distances much easier to calculate.
Now take a look at our distance from other celestial bodies in light-years.
How many light years away is the moon?
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Our distance from different celestial bodies in light-years
· Sun
In light-years, the distance to the Sun is 0.00001581 light-years, whereas it is 8.20 light minutes or 500 light-seconds. In meters, the distance between the Sun and Earth would be 150.4 billion.
· Mars
The distance between Mars and Earth is less than one light-year. It is 4.2 × 10−5 light-years away from Earth. However, because both Earth and Mars orbit the Sun, the actual distance varies from moment to moment.
· Pluto
The average distance between Earth and Pluto is the same as Pluto's average distance from the Sun. This is approximately 0.000628 light-years.
· Jupiter
If you travel at the speed of light from Earth to Jupiter, you will arrive there in around 43 light minutes. When converted into light-years, the answer is 0.000062194 light-years.