Final answer:
To find Mercury's average distance from the Sun in kilometers, multiply its distance in AU (0.39) by the number of kilometers in one AU (149,597,870.7), resulting in approximately 58.3 million kilometers.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student has asked to convert the average distance from Mercury to the Sun from astronomical units (AU) to kilometers (km). An astronomical unit is the average distance between the Earth and the Sun, which is about 149,597,870.7 kilometers. Mercury's distance from the Sun is given as 0.39 AU. To find this distance in kilometers, we multiply the number of astronomical units by the number of kilometers in one AU:
0.39 AU × 149,597,870.7 km/AU = 58,343,169.373 kilometers.
Therefore, Mercury's average distance from the Sun is approximately 58.3 million kilometers. It's worth noting that due to the high eccentricity of Mercury's orbit, the actual distance varies considerably, from about 46 million kilometers at perihelion to 70 million kilometers at aphelion.