/ English Dictionary |
ASTRONOMY UNIT
Pronunciation (US): | (GB): |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A linear unit used for astronomical distances
Classified under:
Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure
Hypernyms ("astronomy unit" is a kind of...):
linear measure; linear unit (a unit of measurement of length)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "astronomy unit"):
light-year; light year (the distance that light travels in a vacuum in 1 year; 5.88 trillion miles or 9.46 trillion kilometers)
light hour (the distance light travels in a vacuum in one hour; approximately one billion kilometers)
light minute (the distance light travels in a vacuum in one minute; approximately 18 million kilometers)
light second (the distance light travels in a vacuum in one second; approximately 300,000 kilometers)
Astronomical Unit; AU (a unit of length used for distances within the solar system; equal to the mean distance between the Earth and the Sun (approximately 93 million miles or 150 million kilometers))
parsec; secpar (a unit of astronomical length based on the distance from Earth at which stellar parallax is 1 second of arc; equivalent to 3.262 light years)