Convert light year to Earth equatorial radius Online | Free Length Converter

Light Year

A light year is a unit of distance used in astronomy to measure how far light travels in one year. Light moves extremely fast—about 299,792 kilometers per second—so in one year, it travels roughly 9.46 trillion kilometers (or about 5.88 trillion miles). Light years help scientists express the huge distances between stars and galaxies. For example, the nearest star to Earth, Proxima Centauri, is about 4.24 light years away. The term “light year” can be confusing because it sounds like a measure of time, but it actually measures distance.

Earth Equatorial Radius

The Earth's equatorial radius is the distance from the center of the Earth to the equator. It represents the Earth's radius measured along the equatorial plane.

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  Its value is approximately 6,378.1 kilometers (about 3,963.2 miles).

  
  
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  The Earth is not a perfect sphere but an oblate spheroid, so the equatorial radius is slightly larger than the polar radius.

  
  
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  This radius is important for geodesy, satellite orbits, and mapping.

  
  

Key facts:

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  Equatorial radius ≈ 6,378.1 km

  
  
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  Larger than polar radius due to Earth's flattening at the poles

  
  
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  Used in Earth sciences, navigation, and space missions

  
  

Understanding the Earth's equatorial radius helps in accurate modeling of the planet’s shape and gravitational field.