How long does Hght take to reach the Earth from the Sun ?

examrobotsa's picture
Q: 24 (NDA-II/2017)
How long does Hght take to reach the Earth from the Sun ?

question_subject: 

Geography

question_exam: 

NDA-II

stats: 

0,28,8,3,28,2,3

keywords: 

{'sun': [3, 0, 0, 6], 'hours': [7, 2, 16, 9], 'minutes': [0, 0, 1, 1], 'earth': [0, 1, 1, 1], 'hght': [0, 0, 0, 1]}

The correct answer is option 2: About 8 minutes.

When we talk about the time it takes for light to reach the Earth from the Sun, we refer to it as the "light travel time". The distance between the Earth and the Sun is about 93 million miles (150 million kilometers). Light travels at a speed of approximately 186,282 miles per second (299,792 kilometers per second).

To calculate the light travel time from the Sun to the Earth, we can divide the distance between them by the speed of light. 93 million miles divided by 186,282 miles per second equals approximately 498 seconds or about 8 minutes and 18 seconds. Therefore, light takes about 8 minutes to travel from the Sun to the Earth.

This means that when we see the Sun in the sky, we are actually seeing it as it was about 8 minutes ago, since that is how long it takes for the light to reach us.