Convert Light Years to Miles: 5.879e+12 Explanation and Conversion Guide

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SUMMARY

One light year is equivalent to 5.879e+12 miles, which is expressed in scientific notation as 5.879 × 1012 miles. The 'e' in this notation stands for "times ten to the power," indicating the multiplication of 5.879 by 10 raised to the 12th power. This conversion is essential for understanding astronomical distances in more familiar units. The discussion clarifies the notation used in scientific and computational contexts.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of scientific notation
  • Basic knowledge of distance measurement in astronomy
  • Familiarity with the concept of light years
  • Basic arithmetic operations involving powers of ten
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the conversion factors between light years and other astronomical units
  • Explore the implications of using scientific notation in various scientific fields
  • Learn about the significance of light years in astrophysics
  • Investigate other units of measurement for astronomical distances, such as parsecs
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Astronomy enthusiasts, educators, students in physics or mathematics, and anyone interested in understanding astronomical distance conversions.

TaurusSteve
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TL;DR
One light year explained.
5.879e+12. So that is what comes up if you convert one light year to miles. My question is, what does the 'e' mean? I see it quite a bit.
 
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It's standard computer and calculator notation for "times ten to the power". So it's saying that one light year is 5.879×1012 miles.
 
Ibix said:
It's standard computer and calculator notation for "times ten to the power". So it's saying that one light year is 5.879×1012 miles.
Thanks. So 10 times 12 times
 
TaurusSteve said:
Thanks. So 10 times 12 times
If you mean 5.879×10×10×10×...×10 with twelve ×10s, yes.
 

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