how long does it take light to reach earth from the sun

The answer to that question depends on the time of the year. Earth moves in an elliptical path and when it is closest it's about 91,400,000 miles away. But at its farthest, it's about 94,500,000 miles away.

(Elliptical path: an ellipse is a roughly oval shape, like a circle that has been flattened. For a more precise definition, look it up in the dictionary at the top of this page.)

Light travels at about 186,200 miles in one second.

So if you do the arithmetic, you will find out how many minutes it takes for the longest trip, and how many minutes it takes for the shortest trip.

First, divide the closest distance by 186,200 to find the number of seconds it takes.

Then, divide the farthest distance by 186,200 to find the number of seconds it takes.

Then divide each answer by 60 to find out how many minutes it takes for each trip.

If you want one number, add the minutes and divide by 2 to get an average.

This is very crude, by the way. But then, a lot of astronomy is a matter of crude estimates.

Good answer, B.

In metric / SI units the speed of light is 300 million meters per second; that's 3x10⁸ m/sec accurate to three significant figures -- important for quick calculations using a slide rule!

The exact speed of light is 670,616,629.384 miles per hour. Your mileage vary -- but not the speed of light!

My brain blunks out at anything over 120 mph, which is the fastest I have ever driven. The rest is just numbers.

Years ago I dabbled in time-lapse movies taken from a dashboard camera. In this manner I could cruise the interstates at speeds ranging from a few hundred miles per hour up to orbital spacecraft speeds, say 20,000 mph. In my Chevy. The most pleasing effects, depending on terrain, were usually from about Mach 1.5 to Mach 3.

The speed of sound, however, holds no candle (sorry) to the speed of light, which is almost a million times faster.

"...I could cruise the interstates at speeds ranging from a few hundred miles per hour up to orbital spacecraft speeds, say 20,000 mph."


I remember
We were flying along and hit something in the air

I think we all dabbled, one way or another.

Bein' alive.

Thanks to the magic of Google, DG, I see that you're quoting D.O.A. by Bloodrock. Not my cup o' tea.