A
light-minute (also written
light minute) is a
unit of length. It is defined as the
distance light travels in an absolute
vacuum in one
minute or
17,987,547,480 metres (~18
Gm). Note that this value is exact, since the metre is actually defined in terms of the
light-second.
To give an example, the average distance from the Earth to the Sun (or 1 astronomical unit) is about 8.317 light-minutes.
See also