How far away is the sun?

180 years old and driving

Imagine living to 180 years old and still driving. You would have to be that age including 17 years to get a license to drive the 93-million-mile distance between the earth and the sun. Of course, driving to the sun is not conceivable. This is just a fact-filled, and fun visual of how far the sun is from the earth.

It would take about 1,430,769 hours at 65 miles per hour to drive the distance between the sun and the earth.

• 59,615 days, driving a 24hr day
• 119,230 days driving a 12hr day
• 238,460 days driving a 6hr day

The distance between the sun and the earth is so far we see, feel, and experience the sun’s light as it _was. We have a delayed response to the sun’s light. There is an 8.3-minute delay between the release of light from the sun and our exposure to that light. It is likely you would have never known before now that the distance between the sun and the earth is causing you to always be behind or living in delay. The 93 million mile distance between the sun and the earth is also referred to as an astronomical unit. The astronomical unit (AU) is the measurement used in science and space technology to describe the distance between the sun and the earth.

How far away is the sun? – LIGHT YEARS AWAY

When someone uses the phrase “something is light years away”, is it possible to know how far away that thing is? In all reality that would mean, that thing will not happen. Light years is about 6 trillion miles and is the distance light travels in one earth year. The sun is:

• 1 light-year, 6 trillion miles away
• 8.2 _light minutes away
• 500_ light seconds away

We are experiencing the sun as it _was. _The 93 million mile distance between the sun and earth causes an 8.3-minute delay that we are not aware of. Does this mean we live in constant delay? It does. The lag or lapse in time is unavoidable due to the distance of the sun from the earth. The further an object is, the longer it takes to see it. Our ability to see anything is much slower than the speed of light. In effect, anything affected by the sun is in delay as we see it. Let us be a little more reasonable and assume we could take a plane to the sun. It seems like a more practical idea.

How far away is the sun? A FLIGHT TO THE SUN

Flying a jet to the sun is a more reasonable way to get there. The 93 million mile distance between the sun and the earth is a shorter trip. A flight in a Jumbo Jet would take about 19 years. Achievable? Yes, if you could do it without burning up before you get there. On the bright side, you would not have to live as long; you do not need a driver’s license and you could do it more than once.