1. Understanding the Units
* Light year: The distance light travels in one year.
* Kilometer: A unit of distance in the metric system.
2. Conversion Factors
* Speed of light: Approximately 299,792,458 meters per second (m/s)
* Seconds in a year: Approximately 31,536,000 seconds (365.25 days * 24 hours/day * 60 minutes/hour * 60 seconds/minute)
3. Calculation
1. Calculate distance in meters:
* Distance in meters = (speed of light in m/s) * (seconds in a year)
* Distance in meters = 299,792,458 m/s * 31,536,000 s
* Distance in meters = 9.461 × 10^15 meters
2. Convert meters to kilometers:
* Distance in kilometers = (distance in meters) / 1000
* Distance in kilometers = (9.461 × 10^15 meters) / 1000
* Distance in kilometers = 9.461 × 10^12 kilometers
3. Multiply by 75,000:
* Distance in kilometers for 75,000 light years = (9.461 × 10^12 kilometers) * 75,000
* Distance in kilometers for 75,000 light years = 7.096 × 10^17 kilometers
Therefore, there are approximately 7.096 × 10^17 kilometers in 75,000 light years.