Astronomical unit
| SI units | |
|---|---|
| 149.60×106 km | 149.60×109 m |
| Astronomical units | |
| 4.8481×10−6 pc | 15.813×10−6 ly}} |
| US customary / Imperial units | |
| 92.956×106 mi | 490.81×109 ft |
The astronomical unit (AU) is a unit of length got from the Earth's orbit. Its definition is: the length of the semi-major axis of the Earth's elliptical orbit around the Sun. "Semi-major" means half the long axis.
The AU is about 150 million kilometers or 93 million miles. Astronomers usually measure distances within the Solar System in astronomical units. Mars is about 1.4 AU from the Sun, Jupiter lies at roughly 5.2 AU, and Neptune is roughly 30 AU from the Sun.
Astronomical unit is a term that is important to remember and consider when we try to understand the universe. Light travels an AU in about 8.317 minutes.
More accuracy [change]
AU takes the value 0.01720209895 when the units of measurement are the astronomical units of length, mass and time.[1][2][3] In 2012, the IAU redefined it to be simply 149,597,870,700 m.[4]
In the IERS numerical standards, the speed of light in a vacuum is defined as c0 = 299,792,458 m/s, in accordance with the SI units. The time to cover an AU is τA = 499.0047838061±0.00000001 s, resulting in the astronomical unit in metres as c0τA = 149,597,870,700±3 m.[5] It is approximately equal to the distance from the earth to the sun.
References [change]
- ↑ Resolution No. 10 of the XVIth General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union, Grenoble, 1976
- ↑ H. Hussmann, F. Sohl, J. Oberst (2009), "§4.2.2.1.3: Astronomical units", in Joachim E Trümper, Astronomy, astrophysics, and cosmology. Volume VI/4B Solar System, Springer, p. 4, ISBN 3-540-88054-2, http://books.google.com/?id=wgydrPWl6XkC&pg=RA1-PA4
- ↑ Gareth V Williams (1997), "Astronomical unit", in James H. Shirley, Rhodes Whitmore Fairbridge, Encyclopedia of planetary sciences, Springer, p. 48, ISBN 0-412-06951-2, http://books.google.com/books?id=dw2GadaPkYcC&pg=PA48
- ↑ Geoff Brumfiel (14-Sep-2012). "The astronomical unit gets fixed: Earth–Sun distance changes from slippery equation to single number.". http://www.nature.com/news/the-astronomical-unit-gets-fixed-1.11416. Retrieved 14-Sep-2012.
- ↑ Gérard Petit and Brian Luzum, eds. (2010). "Table 1.1: IERS numerical standards". IERS technical note no. 36: General definitions and numerical standards. International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service. ftp://tai.bipm.org/iers/conv2010/chapter1/tn36_c1.pdf. For complete document see Gérard Petit and Brian Luzum, eds. (2010). IERS Conventions (2010): IERS technical note no. 36. International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service. ISBN 978-3-89888-989-6. http://www.iers.org/nn_11216/IERS/EN/Publications/TechnicalNotes/tn36.html.
