Basic units of distance are the meter (m) and the centimeter (cm)

1 m

= 100 cm,

1 m

= 1.094 yards,

1 kilometer =1000 m

= 0.62 miles.

 

 

An Astronomical Unit (AU) = 1.496x 108 km is the average distance between the Earth and the Sun. The distance to Pluto is about 38 AU at its closest.

A light year (ly) = 9.46x 1012 km is the distance that light travels in one year. The distance between the Earth and the Sun is about 8 light minutes.

A parsec (pc) = 3.09x 1013 km = 3.26 ly. The distance to the nearest star is 1.3 pc. The distance to the center of the Galaxy is about 8.5 kpc (1 kpc = 1000 pc). The distance to the Virgo cluster of galaxies is 20 Mpc (1 Mpc = 106 pc).

 

 

 

 

Basic units of mass are the kilogram (kg) and the gram (g). 1 kg is equivalent to 2.2 pounds (on Earth). 1 kg = 1,000 g

A solar mass = 2x 1030 kg is the total mass of the Sun. The Milky Way galaxy has a mass of about 1012 solar masses.

 

 

 

 

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