light year
Astronomical travel measure
A light year is the distance light travels in one year—about 5.88 trillion miles or 9.46 trillion kilometers.
It's a unit astronomers use because cosmic distances are too vast for everyday measures: The nearest star is over four light years away.
Informally, light years suggests an enormous gap: Her skills are light years ahead of mine.
Hypothetical superluminal propulsion system
- hyperspaceFaster-than-light travel medium
- starshipFictional interstellar vessel
- intergalacticSpanning multiple star systems
- space operaDramatic sci-fi in cosmos
Star Trek · Star Wars · lightsaber · parsec · science fiction · space travel · colonization · generation ship
Region light has reached us from
- cosmic scaleUniverse-sized frame of reference
- Big BangUniverse's explosive origin
- expansionIncrease in scope
- redshiftWavelength stretch from recession
dark energy · dark matter · universe · multiverse · superclusters · inflationary · cosmological · spacetime
State of being immense
- immensityLimitless extent or magnitude
- incomprehensibleImpossible to understand
- cosmic scaleUniverse-sized frame of reference
- unimaginableBeyond mental conception
enormous · mind-boggling · astronomical · unfathomable · perspective · comparison · visualization · scale model
Distance units for astronomy
- megaparsecsUnits measuring galactic separations
- astronomical unitsEarth-sun distance as yardstick
- HubbleRenowned astronomer's surname
- telescopeInstrument magnifying faraway objects
observatory · astrophysics · spectroscopy · Cepheid variables · parallax · redshift · luminosity · magnitude
Closest star system
- Proxima CentauriNearest stellar neighbor
- AndromedaNearest spiral galaxy
- Milky WayGalaxy containing Earth
- exoplanetPlanet outside our system
Voyager · Oort cloud · Sirius · Betelgeuse · Vega · solar system · starlight · deep field
Numbers times ten-powers
- metricStandard of measurement
- calculationMathematical problem-solving process
- conversionAct of changing states
- preciseExactly correct, no error
warp drive
Hypothetical superluminal propulsion system
- hyperspaceFaster-than-light travel medium
- starshipFictional interstellar vessel
- intergalacticSpanning multiple star systems
space opera · Star Trek · Star Wars · lightsaber · parsec · science fiction · space travel · colonization · generation ship · cryosleep
observable universe
Region light has reached us from
- cosmic scaleUniverse-sized frame of reference
- Big BangUniverse's explosive origin
- expansionIncrease in scope
redshift · dark energy · dark matter · universe · multiverse · superclusters · inflationary · cosmological · spacetime
vastness
State of being immense
- immensityLimitless extent or magnitude
- incomprehensibleImpossible to understand
- cosmic scaleUniverse-sized frame of reference
unimaginable · enormous · mind-boggling · astronomical · unfathomable · perspective · comparison · visualization · scale model · comprehension
parsecs
Distance units for astronomy
- megaparsecsUnits measuring galactic separations
- astronomical unitsEarth-sun distance as yardstick
- HubbleRenowned astronomer's surname
telescope · observatory · astrophysics · spectroscopy · Cepheid variables · parallax · redshift · luminosity · magnitude · celestial
Alpha Centauri
Closest star system
- Proxima CentauriNearest stellar neighbor
- AndromedaNearest spiral galaxy
- Milky WayGalaxy containing Earth
exoplanet · Voyager · Oort cloud · Sirius · Betelgeuse · Vega · solar system · starlight · deep field · Kepler
scientific notation
Numbers times ten-powers
- metricStandard of measurement
- calculationMathematical problem-solving process
- conversionAct of changing states
light yearnanometer
Metric unit, billion-fold smaller
angstrom · picometer · micrometer · millimeter · femtometer
light yearstone's throw
Very short distance
arm's length · footstep · walking distance · city block · human scale
light, year, yearly, daylight, light-years, light-year, light years