Editing Astronomical unit (section)

== Examples ==
The following table contains some distances given in astronomical units. It includes some examples with distances that are normally not given in astronomical units, because they are either too short or far too long. Distances normally change over time. Examples are listed by increasing distance.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! width= 100 | Object or length
! Length or{{br}}distance{{br}}in au
! width= 50 class="unsortable"| Range
! class="unsortable" | Comment and reference point
! width= 25 class="unsortable" | Refs
|- style="background-color: #e2e2e2"
| [[Light-second]]
| align=right| {{val|0.002}}
| —
| Distance light travels in one second
| —
|-
| [[Lunar distance (astronomy)|Lunar distance]]
| align=right| {{val|0.0026}}
| —
| Average distance from Earth (which the [[Apollo program|Apollo missions]] took about 3 days to travel)
| —
|- style="background-color: #e2e2e2"
|[[Solar radius]]
| align=right| {{val|0.005}}
| —
| Radius of the [[Sun]] ({{val|695500|u=km}}, {{val|432450|u=mi}}, a hundred times the radius of Earth or ten times the average radius of Jupiter)
| —
|- style="background-color: #e2e2e2"
| [[Light-minute]]
| align=right| {{val|0.12}}
| —
| Distance light travels in one minute
| —
|-
| [[Mercury (planet)|Mercury]]
| align=right| {{val|0.39}}
| —
| Average distance from the Sun
| —
|-
| [[Venus]]
| align=right| {{val|0.72}}
| —
| Average distance from the Sun
| —
|-
|[[Earth]]
| align=right| {{val|1.00}}
| —
|Average distance of [[Earth's orbit]] from the Sun ([[sunlight]] travels for 8 minutes and 19 seconds before reaching Earth)
| —
|-
| [[Mars]]
| align=right| {{val|1.52}}
| —
| Average distance from the Sun
| —
|-
| [[Jupiter]]
| align=right| {{val|5.2}}
| —
| Average distance from the Sun
| —
|- style="background-color: #e2e2e2"
| [[Light-second#Use in astronomy|Light-hour]]
| align=right| {{val|7.2}}
| —
| Distance light travels in one hour
| —
|-
| [[Saturn]]
| align=right| {{val|9.5}}
| —
| Average distance from the Sun
| —
|-
| [[Uranus]]
| align=right| {{val|19.2}}
| —
| Average distance from the Sun
| —
|-
| [[Kuiper belt]]
| align=right| {{val|30}}
| —
| align=left | Inner edge begins at approximately 30&nbsp;au
|<ref>{{cite journal |author=Stern |first1=Alan |last2=Colwell |first2=Joshua E. |date=1997 |title=Collisional erosion in the primordial Edgeworth-Kuiper belt and the generation of the 30–50&nbsp;au Kuiper gap |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |volume=490 |issue=2 |pages=879–82 |bibcode=1997ApJ...490..879S |doi=10.1086/304912 |s2cid=123177461 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
|-
| [[Neptune]]
| align=right| {{val|30.1}}
| —
| Average distance from the Sun
| —
|-
| [[Eris (dwarf planet)|Eris]]
| align=right| {{val|67.8}}
| —
| Average distance from the Sun
| —
|-
|''[[Voyager 2]]''
| align=right| {{val|137}}
| —
| Distance from the Sun in October 2024
| <ref name="distantprobes">[https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status/ Voyager Mission Status].</ref>
|-
| ''[[Voyager 1]]''
| align=right| {{val|165}}
| —
| Distance from the Sun in October 2024
| <ref name="distantprobes"/>
|- style="background-color: #e2e2e2"
| [[Light-day]]
| align=right| {{val|173}}
| —
|Distance light travels in one day
| —
|- style="background-color: #e2e2e2"
| [[Light-year]]
| align=right| {{val|63241}}
| —
| Distance light travels in one [[Julian year (astronomy)|Julian year]] (365.25 days)
| —
|-
| [[Oort cloud]]
| align=right| {{val|75000}}
| ± {{val|25000}}
|Distance of the outer limit of Oort cloud from the Sun (estimated, corresponds to 1.2 light-years)
| —
|- style="background-color: #e2e2e2"
| [[Parsec]]
| align=right| {{val|206265}}
| —
| One [[parsec]]. The parsec is defined in terms of the astronomical unit, is used to measure distances beyond the scope of the Solar System and is about 3.26 light-years: 1 pc = 1&nbsp;au/tan(1″)
|<ref name=au_parsec/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iau.org/public/themes/measuring/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250310001225/http://www.iau.org/public/themes/measuring/ |archive-date=10 March 2025 |title=Measuring the Universe – The IAU and astronomical units |publisher=International Astronomical Union |access-date=20 April 2025 }}</ref>
|-
| [[Proxima Centauri]]
| align=right| {{val|268000}}
| ± 126
| Distance to the nearest star to the Solar System
| —
|-
| [[Galactic Centre]] of the [[Milky Way]]
| align=right| {{val|1700000000}}
| —
| Distance from the Sun to the centre of the Milky Way
| —
|-
! colspan=5 style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 0.9em; text-align: left; padding: 6px 2px 4px 4px" | Note: Figures in this table are generally rounded estimates, often rough estimates, and may considerably differ from other sources. Table also includes other units of length for comparison.
|}