What time duration corresponds to the distance of $1 ext{ AU}$ based on light travel time?
Answer
About $8.3$ minutes
The relationship between the Astronomical Unit ($ ext{AU}$) and the speed of light provides a crucial benchmark for understanding solar system scales. Since $1 ext{ AU}$ is defined as the distance between the Earth and the Sun, and light is the mechanism we use to perceive this distance, the time it takes light to cross this separation is highly significant. Light requires approximately $8.3$ minutes to travel the distance of one $ ext{AU}$. This fact allows for easy visualization of solar system events; for example, signals traveling to the Mars rover are measured in light-minutes, which directly correlates back to a distance expressed in $ ext{AU}$ relative to Mars's orbital position.
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