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The astronomical unit is used primarily for measuring distances within the Solar System or around other stars. It is also a fundamental component in the definition of another unit of astronomical length, the parsec. [6] One au is equivalent to 499 light-seconds to within 10 parts per million.
An equivalent formulation of the old definition of the astronomical unit is the radius of an unperturbed circular Newtonian orbit about the Sun of a particle having infinitesimal mass, moving with a mean motion of 0.017 202 098 95 radians per day. [5] The speed of light in IAU is the defined value c 0 = 299 792 458 m/s of the SI units.
The unit was introduced to simplify the calculation of astronomical distances from raw observational data. Partly for this reason, it is the unit preferred in astronomy and astrophysics, though in popular science texts and common usage the light-year remains prominent.
The light-year unit appeared in 1851 in a German popular astronomical article by Otto Ule. [24] Ule explained the oddity of a distance unit name ending in "year" by comparing it to a walking hour (Wegstunde). A contemporary German popular astronomical book also noticed that light-year is an odd name. [25]
Pages in category "Units of measurement in astronomy" ... Astronomical system of units; C. Astronomical constant; Crab (unit) E. Earth mass; Earth radius (unit ...
149.6 Gm (93.0 million mi; 1.0 au) – average distance between the Earth and the Sun – the original definition of the astronomical unit; 199 Gm (1.3 au) – diameter of Rho Persei, an asymptotic giant branch star, fusing carbon into neon in a shell surrounding an inert core. [180] 228 Gm (1.5 au) – distance between Mars and the Sun
Solar radius is a unit of distance used to express the size of stars in astronomy relative to the Sun.The solar radius is usually defined as the radius to the layer in the Sun's photosphere where the optical depth equals 2/3: [1]
One astronomical unit (about 150 million kilometres; 93 million miles) is defined as the mean distance between the centers of the Sun and the Earth. The instantaneous distance varies by about ± 2.5 million kilometres (1.6 million miles) as Earth moves from perihelion around 3 January to aphelion around 4 July. [ 36 ]