Sunlight takes an average of _________ to travel from the Sun to Earth.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
The correct answer is option 1 i.e. 8 minutes and 20 seconds.
- Sunlight takes approximately 8 minutes and 20 seconds to reach Earth, covering the distance known as one Astronomical Unit (AU), which is about 149.6 million kilometers. This travel time corresponds to roughly 499 seconds.
- In 1729, astronomer James Bradley observed a celestial phenomenon known as the aberration of starlight. Based on this effect, he concluded that light travels much faster than Earth's orbital speed. His calculations led to an estimate that light takes around 8 minutes and 12 seconds to travel from the Sun to Earth—a remarkably close approximation to modern measurements.