|
List of orders of
magnitude for length |
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|
Decade of length |
Length using SI
prefixes |
Length of item |
Item |
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10-35 m |
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1.6 ×10-35 m |
Planck length; lengths smaller than this do not make
any physical sense, according to current theories of physics |
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. . . |
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10-24 m |
1 yoctometre (ym) |
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10-21 m |
1 zeptometre (zm) |
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10-18 m |
1 attometre (am) |
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size of a quark, electron radius |
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sensitivity of the LIGO detector for gravitational
waves |
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10-15 m |
1 femtometre (fm) |
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size of a proton |
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classical electron |
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10-14 m |
10 fm |
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scale of the atomic nucleus |
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range of the weak nuclear force |
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10-13 m |
100 fm |
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10-12 m |
1 picometre (pm) |
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distance between atomic nuclei in a white dwarf |
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wavelength of gamma rays |
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5 pm |
wavelength of shortest X-rays |
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10-11 m |
10 pm |
25 pm |
radius of hydrogen atom |
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31 pm |
radius of helium atom |
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10-10 m |
100 pm |
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wavelength of X rays |
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100 pm |
1 Ångström |
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100 pm (0.1 nm) |
covalent radius of sulfur atom |
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126 pm (0.126 nm) |
covalent radius of ruthenium atom |
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135 pm (0.135 nm) |
covalent radius of technetium atom |
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153 pm (0.153 nm) |
covalent radius of silver atom |
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154 pm (0.154 nm) |
length of a typical covalent
bond (C-C). |
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155 pm (0.155 nm) |
covalent radius of zirconium atom |
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175 pm (0.175 nm) |
covalent radius of thulium atom |
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225 pm (0.225 nm) |
covalent radius of caesium atom |
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500 pm (0.50 nm) |
width of protein α helix |
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10-9 m |
1 nanometre (nm) |
2 nm |
diameter of DNA helix |
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10-8 m |
10 nm |
20 nm |
thickness of bacterial flagellum |
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40 nm |
extreme ultraviolet wavelength |
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90 nm |
human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (generally,
viruses range in size from 20 nm to 450 nm) |
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100 nm |
90% of particles in wood smoke are smaller than this |
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10-7 m |
100 nm |
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size of chromosomes |
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100 nm |
maximum particle size that can fit through a surgical
mask |
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120 nm |
maximum particle size that can fit through a ULPA
filter |
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280 nm |
near ultraviolet wavelength |
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300 nm |
maximum particle size that can fit through a HEPA
filter |
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380-430 nm |
wavelength of violet light -- |
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430-450 nm |
wavelength of indigo light |
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450-500 nm |
wavelength of blue light |
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500-520 nm |
wavelength of cyan light |
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520-565 nm |
wavelength of green light |
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565-590 nm |
wavelength of yellow light |
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590-625 nm |
wavelength of orange light |
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625-740 nm |
wavelength of red light |
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10-6 m |
1 micrometre (µm) |
1-10 µm |
diameter of typical bacterium |
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1.55 µm |
wavelength of light used in optical fibre |
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6-8 µm |
diameter of a human red blood cell |
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6 µm |
anthrax spore |
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7 µm |
width of strand of spider web |
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7 µm |
diameter of the nucleus of typical eukariotic cell |
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10-5 m |
10 µm |
10 µm |
typical size of a fog, mist or cloud water droplet |
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10 µm |
width of cotton fibre |
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10.6 µm |
wavelength of light emitted by a carbon dioxide laser |
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12 µm |
width of Acrylic fibre |
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13 µm |
width of nylon fibre |
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14 µm |
width of polyester fibre |
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15 µm |
width of silk fibre |
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17 µm |
dust mite excreta |
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20 µm |
width of wool fibre |
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25.4 µm |
1/1000 inch, commonly referred to as 1 mil |
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50 µm |
typical length of Euglena gracilis,
a flagellate protist |
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80 µm |
average width of human hair (ranges from 18 to 180
µm) |
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10-4 m |
100 µm |
125 µm |
dust mite |
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200 µm |
typical length of Paramecium caudatum, a
ciliate protist |
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300 µm |
diameter of Thiomargarita namibiensis,
the largest bacterium ever discovered |
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500 µm |
MEMS micro-engine |
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500 µm |
diameter of a human ovum |
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500 µm |
typical length of Amoeba proteus, an amoeboid protist |
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10-3 m |
1 millimetre (mm) |
2.54 mm |
distance between pins in old DIP (dual-inline-pins)
electronic components |
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5 mm |
length of average red ant |
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7.62 mm |
common military ammunition size |
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10-2 m |
1 centimetre (cm) |
1.5 cm |
length of a large mosquito |
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2.54 cm |
1 inch |
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3.1 cm |
1 attoparsec (10-18 parsecs) |
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4.267 cm |
diameter of a golfball |
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10-1 m |
1 decimetre (dm) |
10 cm |
wavelength of the highest UHF radio frequency, 3 GHz |
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10 cm |
diameter of the cervix upon entering the second stage
of labour |
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10.16 cm |
Hand using in measuring height of horses (4 inches) |
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12 cm |
wavelength of the 2.45 GHz ISM radio band |
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15 cm |
height of a Lilliputian from Gulliver's Travels |
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30.48 cm |
1 foot |
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50-65 cm |
a pizote's tail |
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66 cm |
length of the longest pine cones (produced by the
sugar pine) |
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89 cm |
average adult height of a Hobbit |
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90 cm |
average length of a rapier, a fencing sword |
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91 cm |
1 yard |
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1 m |
1 metre |
1 m |
wavelength of the lowest UHF and highest VHF radio
frequency, 300 MHz |
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1.7 m (5 feet 7 inches) |
average person's height |
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1.435m |
Standard gauge of railway track |
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2.77 - 3.44 m |
wavelength of the broadcast radio FM band 108 - 87
MHz |
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3.048 m (10 feet) |
height of the basket in basketball |
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5.5 m |
height of tallest animal, the giraffe |
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10 m |
1 decametre (dam) |
10 m |
wavelength of the lowest VHF and highest shortwave
radio frequency, 30 MHz |
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18.44 m |
distance between the pitcher's rubber and home plate
on a baseball field |
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20 m |
length of a cricket pitch |
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21 m |
height of High Force
waterfall in |
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23 m |
height of the obelisk of the
Place de la Concorde, Paris. |
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25 m |
wavelength of the broadcast radio shortwave band at
12 MHz |
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27.43 m |
distance between bases on a baseball field |
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30 m |
length of a blue whale, the largest animal |
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31 m |
wavelength of the broadcast radio shortwave band at
9.7 MHz |
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40 m |
average depth beneath the seabed of the Channel
tunnel |
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49 m |
width of an American football field (53 1/3 yards) |
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49 m |
wavelength of the broadcast radio shortwave band at
6.1 MHz |
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52 m |
height of |
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55 m |
height of the Leaning Tower of Pisa |
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62 m |
Height of Pyramid of Djoser |
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70 m |
width of soccer field |
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70 m |
length of the Bayeux Tapestry |
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91.44 m |
length of an American football field (100 yards,
measured between the goal lines) |
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100 m |
1 hectometre (hm) |
100 m |
wavelength of the lowest shortwave radio frequency
and highest medium wave radio frequency, 3 MHz |
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105 m |
length of a soccer field |
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109.73 m |
total length of an American football field (120
yards, including the end zones) |
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112.34 m |
height of the world's tallest tree, a Coast redwood |
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137 m |
height of the Great Pyramid of Giza |
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147 m |
original height of the Great Pyramid of Giza |
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168 m |
height of the Bungsberg, highest point in |
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187 m |
shortest wavelength of the broadcast radio AM band,
1600 kHz |
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193 m |
the approximate length of New Jersey State Highway 59 |
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244 m |
height of the City Gate building in |
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300 m |
height of the |
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340 m |
distance sound travels in air in one second; see
speed of sound |
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400-500 m |
approximate heights of the
world's tallest skyscrapers of the past 70 years. |
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541 m (1,776 ft) |
height of the planned |
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553.33 m |
height of the CN Tower, the world's tallest
free-standing land structure |
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555 m |
longest wavelength of the broadcast radio AM band,
540 kHz |
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647 m |
height of the |
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1,000 m |
1 kilometre (km) |
1 km |
wavelength of the lowest medium wave radio frequency,
300 kHz |
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1609 m |
1 international mile |
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1852 m |
1 nautical mile |
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8848 m |
height of the highest mountain, |
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10,000 m |
10 km |
10,911 m |
depth of deepest part of the ocean, Mariana Trench |
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33 km |
narrowest width of the English Channel at the |
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100,000 m |
100 km |
111 km |
one degree of latitude on Earth |
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106 m |
1,000 km = 1 megametre (Mm) |
3,480 km |
diameter of the Moon |
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6,400 km |
length of the |
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7,821 km |
length of the |
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107 m |
10,000 km |
12,756 km |
equatorial diameter of the Earth |
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108 m |
100,000 km |
142,984 km |
diameter of Jupiter |
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384,000 km = 384 Mm |
Moon's orbital distance from Earth |
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109 m |
1 million km = 1 gigametre (Gm) |
1,390,000 km = 1.39 Gm |
diameter of the Sun |
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1010 m |
10 million km |
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1011 m |
100 million km |
150 million km = 150 Gm |
1 astronomical unit (AU); mean distance between Earth
and Sun. |
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1012 m |
1000 million km = 1 terametre (Tm) |
1.4 ×109 km |
orbital distance of Saturn from Sun |
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5.9 ×109 km = 5.9 Tm |
orbital distance of Pluto from Sun |
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1013 m |
10 Tm |
13.8 ×109 km = 13.8 Tm |
distance of the Voyager 1 spacecraft from sun (May
2004), the farthest man-made object so far |
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1014 m |
100 Tm |
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1015 m |
1 petametre (Pm) |
9.46 ×1012 km = 9.46 Pm = 1 light year |
distance travelled by light
in one year |
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1016 m |
10 Pm |
3.2616 light years (3.08568 ×1016 m =
30.8568 Pm) |
1 parsec |
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4.22 light years = 39.9 Pm |
distance to nearest star (Proxima Centauri) |
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1017 m |
100 Pm |
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1018 m |
1 exametre (Em) |
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1019 m |
10 Em |
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1020 m |
100 Em |
10,000 light years |
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1021 m |
1 zettametre (Zm) |
100,000 light years |
diameter of galactic disk of Milky Way Galaxy |
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52 kiloparsecs (1.6 ×1021 m = 1.6 Zm) |
distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud (a dwarf
galaxy orbiting the Milky Way) |
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54 kiloparsecs (1.66 ×1021 m = 1.66 Zm) |
distance to the Small Magellanic Cloud (another dwarf
galaxy orbiting the Milky Way) |
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1022 m |
10 Zm |
22.3 Zm (2.36 million light
years = 725 kiloparsecs = 22.3 Zm) |
distance to Andromeda Galaxy |
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50 Zm (1.6 Mpc) |
diameter of Local Group of galaxies |
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1023 m |
100 Zm |
300-600 Zm (10-20 megaparsecs) |
distance to Virgo cluster of galaxies |
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1024 m |
1 yottametre (Ym) |
200 million light years (2 Ym,
60 megaparsecs) |
diameter of the Local Supercluster |
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500 million light years (5 Ym,
150 megaparsecs) |
length of Great Wall, the largest observed
superstructure in the universe |
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1025 m |
10 Ym |
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1026 m |
100 Ym |
10 ×109 light years |
estimated distance to certain quasars |
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13.7 ×109 light years = 1.3 ×1026
m = 130 Ym |
distance the cosmic background radiation has travelled since the Big Bang |
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