Samuel Chiltern answered
Due to the orbit of the planets, the distance between any pair of planets can vary immensely. Even the distance between each planet and the Sun can vary, as the planet moves through its orbit.
When two planets are at their closest point, they are said to be in opposition.
When the Earth and Venus are in opposition, the distance between them is approximately 38 million kilometres. This is the closest that any planet gets to the Earth.
The Distance Between Venus and the Earth in Light Years
It simply isn't sensible to measure the distance between Venus and Earth in light years. They're just not far enough away. A light year is 9,460,730,472,580.8 kilometres, which is a vast distance, and an expression of the distance between these two planets in light years would be too small to handle easily.
There's no need to make yourself all this hard work, either. Within the Solar System, astronomers use a measurement called an astronomical unit. This is set at the average distance between the Earth and the Sun, which is 149,597,871 kilometres.
If you divide 38 million kilometres by the distance of an astronomical unit, you get a result of approximately 0.25. This means that at opposition, Venus and the Earth are roughly a quarter of an astronomical unit apart.
When two planets are at their closest point, they are said to be in opposition.
When the Earth and Venus are in opposition, the distance between them is approximately 38 million kilometres. This is the closest that any planet gets to the Earth.
The Distance Between Venus and the Earth in Light Years
It simply isn't sensible to measure the distance between Venus and Earth in light years. They're just not far enough away. A light year is 9,460,730,472,580.8 kilometres, which is a vast distance, and an expression of the distance between these two planets in light years would be too small to handle easily.
There's no need to make yourself all this hard work, either. Within the Solar System, astronomers use a measurement called an astronomical unit. This is set at the average distance between the Earth and the Sun, which is 149,597,871 kilometres.
If you divide 38 million kilometres by the distance of an astronomical unit, you get a result of approximately 0.25. This means that at opposition, Venus and the Earth are roughly a quarter of an astronomical unit apart.
