Question

The nearest star to the Earth (other than the Sun) is about 4.0 lightyears away. A lightyear, ly, is the distance light travels in one year. Voyager 1 is traveling at 38,500 miles per hour. How long will it take Voyager 1 to reach the nearest star in years?

Answer 1

First, let's convert the distance of 4 lightyears to miles:

`4\text{ ly}=4\cdot5.879\cdot10^(12)\text{ miles}=23.516\cdot10^(12)\text{ miles}`

Now, let's find the time required:

`\begin{gathered} distance=speed\cdot time\\ \\ 23.516\cdot10^(12)=38500\cdot t\\ \\ t=(23.516\cdot10^(12))/(38500)\\ \\ t=6.10805\cdot10^8\text{ hours} \end{gathered}`

Then, we need to convert from hours to years:

`6.10805\cdot10^8\text{ hours}=(6.10805\cdot10^8)/(8760)=6.97266\cdot10^4\text{ years}`

Therefore it will take approximately 69727 years.