For the first time, scientists have found a rocky planet with an atmosphere orbiting in a star’s habitable zone. Researchers from Harvard University say the Earth-like world has conditions similar to those on Earth.
The exoplanet, LHS 1140 b, is 48 light-years from Earth. It orbits a red dwarf star at a distance close enough for water to remain liquid, but far enough away that it would not boil.
If 48 light years sounds realtively close, well it is, relatively. For comparison, It’s taken voyager 1 49 years to reach 1 light day away from earth. Traveling at a constant rate, it will reach 48 light years in in the year 860,457. Meanwhile, the universe is estimated to be 93 BILLION light-years wide.
One light year is an impossible distance to travel.
Only the part we can see. There’s more.
Also, that measurement is 20 years old by now, so the current size should be 93 billion and 20 light years wide.
Isn’t space expanding as well, and faster than light too? So it ought to be even more than 20.
The universe is. The above measurements are for the observable universe, which is how much we can see from earth.
The use of light years is very deceptive. People see a small number and assume it is a modest distance.
Here you go
48 Light Years ≈ 282,174,017,912,813 Miles
48 Light Years ≈ 454,115,062,683,878 Kilometers