5hrs and 40 minutes to Pluto at light speed, so after a year you'll be a LONG way outside our solar system. 1/3 of the way to nearest star, and a long way from the nearest McDonalds drive through Arthur.....
Can someone please tell me. Travelling from Earth, at light speed, at which point in our solar system is a light year?
Thanks.
One lightyear will take you aproximatly one quarter the distance to Proxima Centaurii,which is 4.2 light years distance.
The hypothisised Oort cloud goes out to one light year, or 64.000 Astronomical Units (AU), or Ten trillion Kilometers.
It will take the Voyager spacecraft launched in 1977 many thousands of years to reach one light year distance traveling at around 46.000kms per hour.
Arthur, 1 light year is approximately 9.46 × 10 to the power of 12 kilometres or about 6 TRILLION Miles.
Quite a long way out and certainly not within our solar system anymore.
Cheers
Chris
Snap Chris
I beg to differ on one light year NOT being in our Solar System ,if as is believed that the Oort cloud exsists,then they must belong to our Solar System as they are gravitationly bound to our Sun, and if the theory is correct they where somehow either pushed out of the inner Solar System or are debris left over from the formation of the Solar System.
Most of the long period Comets are thought to originate from there.
Cheers
I stand corrected, I didnt think of anything other than the orbits of the planets and the minor planets rather than what is under the influence of our star.
I was going to suggest the Heliopause is more like the boundary then? But hmmm, maybe not, I just found a nice picture that represents where everything is expected to live in relation to all this. Take a look.
I stand corrected, I didnt think of anything other than the orbits of the planets and the minor planets rather than what is under the influence of our star.
I was going to suggest the Heliopause is more like the boundary then? But hmmm, maybe not, I just found a nice picture that represents where everything is expected to live in relation to all this. Take a look.
Cheers
Chris
Chris, We are on the same wave length, I also have that picture and was contemplating posting it, But you have saved me the effort
Cheers
Remember to pack lunch before you set off.........
Our problem is we are too small. Now if each of us was about 10 ly tall, our galaxy would be much much easier to understand and visit. But the rest of the Universe, unfortunately not. Almost like trying to imagine the size of the European bailouts!
Can someone please tell me. Travelling from Earth, at light speed, at which point in our solar system is a light year?
Thanks.
May I ask, would you (or anyone that cares to answer) consider the orbit of Pluto to be the limit of our solar system, or the extent of the Oort cloud?
Light travels at 186,000 miles per second (300,000 kilometers per second). Therefore, a light second is 186,000 miles (300,000 kilometers). A light year is the distance that light can travel in a year, or:
186,000 miles/second * 60 seconds/minute * 60 minutes/hour * 24 hours/day * 365 days/year = 5,865,696,000,000 miles/year
A light year is 5,865,696,000,000 miles (9,460,800,000,000 kilometers).
Pluto's average orbit places it at around 5,874,000,000 km from the Sun.
This of course does not take into account time dilation and length contraction, for a person say travelling on a spaceship which is moving at 99% of c (The speed of light) this person on this hypothetical spaceship would experience one year for what an observer on earth would experience as approximately 22 years.
Suffice to say the limit of one light year extends far beyond our solar system, and other factors apply.
May I ask, would you (or anyone that cares to answer) consider the orbit of Pluto to be the limit of our solar system, or the extent of the Oort cloud?
Light travels at 186,000 miles per second (300,000 kilometers per second). Therefore, a light second is 186,000 miles (300,000 kilometers). A light year is the distance that light can travel in a year, or:
186,000 miles/second * 60 seconds/minute * 60 minutes/hour * 24 hours/day * 365 days/year = 5,865,696,000,000 miles/year
A light year is 5,865,696,000,000 miles (9,460,800,000,000 kilometers).
Pluto's average orbit places it at around 5,874,000,000 km from the Sun.
This of course does not take into account time dilation and length contraction, for a person say travelling on a spaceship which is moving at 99% of c (The speed of light) this person on this hypothetical spaceship would experience one year for what an observer on earth would experience as approximately 22 years.
Suffice to say the limit of one light year extends far beyond our solar system, and other factors apply.
Strange I thought I had answered the question
See post #3.
Cheers
Strange I thought I had answered the question
See post #3.
Cheers
So did post #2, more directly so I might add, we are all adding bits and pieces, community spirit and all that.
I have just added some detail, and expanded the information. Not all people love math. You do not think that is helpful and is it something that should be avoided?
Would you care to offer a solution to the question I asked, what would you consider the extent of the Solar System?
One Light Year from Earth
I thought I had answered the question
