Why do astronomers use light-years instead of miles or kilometers for interstellar distances?
Answer
They condense incomprehensible distances into manageable figures
Expressing the distance to distant objects in miles or kilometers leads to numbers with an overwhelming amount of zeros, which are difficult to read, write, and comprehend. Light-years provide a standard ruler that simplifies these massive values, allowing astronomers to communicate data efficiently without the error-prone process of managing excessive digits.
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How Many Years are in a Light Year? | The Speed of Light - YouTube
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