The conversion factor between a light-year and meters is based on the speed of light, which is approximately 299,792,458 meters per second. To determine the conversion factor, we need to calculate the total distance light travels in one year.
The speed of light can be expressed as:
299,792,458 meters/second.
To find the distance light travels in one year, we need to multiply this speed by the number of seconds in a year.
There are:
- 60 seconds in a minute
- 60 minutes in an hour
- 24 hours in a day
- 365.25 days (to account for leap years) in a year
So, the conversion factor between light-years and meters is:
(299,792,458 meters/second) x (60 seconds/minute) x (60 minutes/hour) x (24 hours/day) x (365.25 days/year).
Calculating this value yields:
9,460,730,472,580,800 meters/year.
Therefore, the conversion factor between a light-year and meters is approximately 9.46 trillion (9,460,730,472,580,800) meters per light-year.