How far away is the sun from earth?

Question

My friend wants to know!!!

Answer 1

The "astronomical unit" is a unit of distance used by astronomers to measure distances inside the solar system (and sometimes in other planetary systems).  It is the long term average of the distance from the Sun's centre to the Earth's centre.

It is defined as

149,597,871.5 km

Approximately 92,955,800 US miles.

499 light-seconds.

But we use 150 million km, same as everybody else.

The Earth's orbit around the Sun is not a closed loop (we don't retrace exactly the same path year after year.  On some years, our average distance for that year is a bit closer;  on other years it is a bit further out.

In 2008, our average distance is almost exactly one astronomical unit.  In 2009, It will be a tiny bit less (by about 1,500 km).

The effect of the other planets is responsible for this.

For short time intervals (like a year or so), the average is better understood as the distance from the Sun's centre to the "barycentre" (the centre of mass) of the Earth-Moon system (in case your friend wants to get technical about this).

On January 2, 2008, at perihelion (our closest to the Sun in 2008), the distance was 147,096,448 km.

On July 4, 2008, at aphelion (furthest from the Sun), 152,104,136 km.

Answer 2

The sun is about 93 million miles away from earth.

Answer 3

It varies;  on average about 92,900,000 miles.  At our furthest point, Earth is 94,500,000 miles, and nearest as about 91,600,000 miles.  (We're farthest from the sun right about now, in July.)

Answer 4

To put the distance (about 93,000,000 miles) into perspective, if you jumped in a fast jet plane and took off for the sun at MACH 3 (assuming you had unlimited fuel and that jet engines would work in a vacuum) it would take almost five years to reach the sun. Of course you would burn to a crisp long before you got there.

Answer 5

150,000,000 km (one hundred and fifty million kilometres) on average.

Answer 6

The average distance between the Sun and the Earth is about 92,935,700 miles

Answer 7

The sun is at an average distance of about 93,000,000 miles (150 million kilometers) away from Earth. I hope this helps your friend.

Answer 8

At lightspeed....about 8 minutes.