Info Base

light-year

A light-year (abbreviated: lt-yr or l-y) is the distance which light travels in one mean solar year, and approximately equivalent to 5,880,000,000,000 mi (5,800 billion miles) or 9,460,000,000,000 km (9,460 billion kilometers) or 63,240 AU. Distances beyond our Solar System are often given in light-years.

James M. Thomas, last updated October 11, 1999.

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