What is the unit of Astronomical Distance?

Question

Question

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Bihar CET B.Ed Official Paper (Held On: 25 Jun, 2024)

Answer 1

The correct answer is Light Year.

Key Points

A light year is the distance that light travels in one year in a vacuum.
It is used to measure astronomical distances, such as the distance between stars and galaxies.
One light year is approximately 9.46 trillion kilometers (5.88 trillion miles).
The concept of a light year helps astronomers express vast distances in a more comprehensible way compared to kilometers or miles.
Light travels at a speed of about 299,792 kilometers per second (186,282 miles per second).

Additional Information

Parsec
- A parsec is another unit of distance used in astronomy, equivalent to about 3.26 light years.
- It is based on the parallax angle measured in arcseconds.
- 1 parsec = 3.26 light years = 3.086 x 10¹³ kilometers.
Astronomical Unit (AU)
- An astronomical unit is the average distance between the Earth and the Sun.
- 1 AU is approximately 149.6 million kilometers (93 million miles).
- It is mainly used to measure distances within our solar system.
Redshift
- Redshift occurs when light or other electromagnetic radiation from an object is increased in wavelength.
- It is a key concept in understanding the expansion of the universe.
- It indicates that an object is moving away from the observer.
Hubble's Law
- Hubble's Law states that the recessional velocity of a galaxy is directly proportional to its distance from Earth.
- This law provides evidence for the expansion of the universe.
- It is often expressed as v = H₀ * d, where v is the velocity, H₀ is the Hubble constant, and d is the distance.