_OBAFGKM_ t1_j20n6h9 wrote
Reply to comment by [deleted] in ELI5: If astronomers use "light-years" for interstellar distances, why do we use AU for interplanetary distances instead of "light-minutes"? by concorde77
> Light minutes, on the other hand, are a unit of time, not distance. They are used to measure the time it takes for light to travel a certain distance. For example, it takes about 8 minutes for light to travel from the Sun to the Earth, so the distance from the Sun to the Earth is about 8 light minutes
You've contradicted yourself in this paragraph. Light minutes are not a measurement of time, they're a measurement of distance. You know this intuitively because you explained it correctly the final sentence here
Astronomers don't use light minutes within the solar system because they don't really care about light within the solar system, AU is just a more convenient unit.
its-octopeople t1_j20qb7y wrote
I'm pretty sure this answer was written by ChatGPT.
frakkinreddit t1_j20to0x wrote
Pretty sure you are spot on. Look at all those other posts all at the same time.
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