How does using AU simplify comparing the relative distance of Jupiter versus Earth from the Sun?
It allows for direct ratio comparison just by looking at the numerical values (5.20 vs 1.00).
The most powerful benefit of using the AU lies in providing immediate insight into relative scaling within the solar system. When distances are expressed in AU, determining how much farther one planet is from the Sun compared to another is as simple as comparing the ratio of their respective AU values. For instance, observing Jupiter at 5.20 AU and Earth at 1.00 AU immediately shows that Jupiter is over five times farther away from the Sun than Earth is. If these distances were compared using millions of kilometers (778 million km vs. 150 million km), one would have to perform a division operation ($778/150 ext{ approx } 5.187$) every time this comparative scaling was needed, whereas the AU method makes the comparison instantaneous.
