Difference between revisions of "AU"
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Latest revision as of 03:02, 21 January 2009
The astronomical unit (AU) is a unit adopted for measurement of interplanetary scale distances.
1 AU = 149597870.691 kilometers.
One astronomical unit is defined as equal to the semi-major axis of a circular orbit with a period of one Earth year. Its value is only 1500 kilometers less than the semi-major axis of Earth's actual orbit - which is elliptical, not circular.
The AU is accepted as a non-standard SI unit by the international General Conference on Weights and Measures.
