A LIGHT YEAR

In astronomy, a light year is a measure of separation. It is the maximum length that light can cover in a year, or roughly 9.46 trillion kilometers (5.88 trillion miles). The distance between extremely distant objects in space, such as galaxies and stars, is measured using this unit. Since light moves at a speed of about 299,792,458 meters per second, the term "light year" was created (about 670.6 million miles per hour). Light moves so swiftly that it can traverse a great distance in a short period of time. For instance, Proxima Centauri, the star closest to the Earth, is located 4.24 light years away.