Question

The star nearest to our sun is Proxima Centauri, at a distance of 4.3 light-years from the sun. How far away, in km, is Proxima Centauri from the sun?

Answer 1

Answer: $4.068(10)^{13} km$

Explanation:

A light year is a unit of length and is defined as "the distance a photon would travel in vacuum during a Julian year at the speed of light at an infinite distance from any gravitational field or magnetic field. "

In other words: It is the distance that the light travels in a year.

This unit is equivalent to $9.461(10)^{12}km$, which mathematically is expressed as:

$1Ly=9.461(10)^{12}km$

Doing the conversion:

$4.3Ly.\frac{9.461(10)^{12}km}{1Ly}=4.068(10)^{13}km$

Answer 2

The Answer: The star closest to our sun is 4.2 light years away from the sun.

Explanation: