The Sun is approximately 150 million kilometers (about 93 million miles) away from Earth on average. This distance is also defined as one Astronomical Unit (AU), which is the standard unit used by astronomers to measure distances within our solar system
. Because Earth's orbit around the Sun is elliptical, the distance varies throughout the year:
- At its closest (perihelion), the Sun is about 147.1 million kilometers (91.4 million miles) away.
- At its farthest (aphelion), the Sun is about 152.1 million kilometers (94.5 million miles) away
Light from the Sun takes roughly 8 minutes and 25 seconds to reach Earth, traveling at about 300,000 kilometers per second (186,000 miles per second)
. In summary:
- Average distance: ~150 million km (1 AU)
- Closest distance: ~147.1 million km
- Farthest distance: ~152.1 million km
- Light travel time: ~8 minutes 25 seconds
This measurement is fundamental for understanding the scale of the solar system and is used as a baseline for measuring distances to other planets and stars
