SPACE MISSIONS 3 (ASTRONOMICAL UNIT)

                               SPACE MISSIONS 3

                                       Astronomical Unit

Imagine that you have tied a thread around the Earth. The length of its thread circumference would be about 40,000 kilometers. The moon is about 10 times this distance from the Earth that is 385,000 kilometers. In fact Moon is very – very close to Earth in comparison to other solar system bodies. The distance between the Earth and Venus is 100,000,000 kilometers. If we have to measure distance between two cities we would prefer kilometers over meter. Likewise solar system is so big that astronomers prefer Astronomical Unit (A.U) over Kilometers. One AU is the distance between the Earth and Sun. 

1 AU = 150,000,000 kilometers = 150 Million kilometers

1 Million = 1,000,000 kilometers (One followed by 6 zeros)

Billion is a number that is one thousand times bigger than million.

1 Billion = 1,000,000,000 (One followed by 9 zeros)

Distance from the Sun (in A.U.)

Mercury = 0.387                          

Venus = 0.723

Earth = 1.000

Mars = 1.524

Jupiter = 5.203

Saturn = 9.529

Uranus = 19.19

Neptune = 30.06