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Math in the Physical Sciences

Astronomy and Math

How long does it take for the Sun’s light to reach the Earth?

Because the Sun is an average of 93,000,000 miles (149,598,770 kilometers) from the Earth, and the speed of light is approximately 186,000 miles per second, it is easy to determine the approximate time (t) it takes for the Sun’s light to reach the Earth using mathematics:

t = 93,000,000 miles / 186,000 miles per second

= 500 seconds (miles cancel each other out)

= 8.3 minutes



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