Answer: Distance
Some extra relevant information:
A light-year is a fundamental unit of measurement in astronomy that is used to determine vast distances in space. While many people mistake it for a measure of time, it actually represents a distance. Specifically, a light-year is the distance that light travels through space in one year.
In scientific terms, light travels at an astonishing speed of approximately 299,792 kilometers per second (or about 186,282 miles per second) in a vacuum. This staggering velocity allows light to traverse immense distances within a relatively short span of time.
To put it into perspective, consider that light can circumnavigate the Earth’s equator about 7.5 times in just a single second. In one minute, light can travel the equivalent of nearly 18 laps around the Earth. In less than nine minutes, light from the Sun reaches our planet, which is located roughly 150 million kilometers away.
Given the vastness of the cosmos, using common measurements such as kilometers or miles becomes impractical. Consequently, astronomers adopted the light-year as a more convenient unit for expressing astronomical distances on a cosmic scale.
By multiplying the speed of light by the number of seconds in a year, which is roughly 31.5 million seconds, we can calculate that one light-year is approximately 9.46 trillion kilometers (or about 5.88 trillion miles).
Therefore, when you hear that a star is, for example, 10 light-years away from Earth, it means that the light captured by our telescopes has traveled for a distance of 10 light-years before reaching us. Essentially, we are observing that star as it appeared 10 years ago.
In conclusion, a light-year is a unit of measurement used to express vast astronomical distances. It represents the distance that light travels in the span of one year, equivalent to about 9.46 trillion kilometers or approximately 5.88 trillion miles.