Alpha Centauri, the nearest star, is just over 4 light years away. Traveling at a speed of 2000 miles per hour (the speed of a fast jet airplane), how long would it take to get there in years?

Question

Claire Anctil · Accepted Answer

1341525 years, nearly.

All of these are purely theoretical in nature. One light year is equal to 5.88 E+12 miles, so at 2000 mph, the time it takes to reach Alpha Centauri is 4 X 5.88E+12/2000 hours = 1.176E+10 hours = 1.176E+10/(24 X 365.256) years = 1341525 years. Even to reach nearby Mars, at your speed, it might take 8 years.

Levi Acosta · Answer

134, 260, 0 years! Consider this: a light year is defined as the distance traveled by light in a single year, measured from the point of origin to the destination. Speed of Light # = 299, 792, 458 (meter) / (sec) # There is #315, 360, 00# seconds in a year. After four years of light travel, then: #315, 360, 00 * 299, 792, 458 * 4 = 37.81 * 10^15 - meter # Jet miles to meters conversion: #3218 km * 5/18 m/s # #893.9 m/s# Now, dividing the number of light years by the jet's meter value, #(37.81 * 10^15) / (893.9) # # = 4.234 * 10^13 seconds# This represents the jet's time in seconds to arrive at the destination. Calculating the years: 0 years, 260 years, and 134 years! This is how long a jet plane will take to reach Alpha Centuri, the star.

Clara Avalos · Answer

undefined At 2000 miles per hour, it would take roughly 137,187 years to reach Alpha Centauri.