What is the speed of light?

The speed of light is the highest speed known in the universe, achievable only by light itself. To date, no human, animal, vehicle, or technology has managed to reach it. Although humanity has surpassed the speed of sound, we are still far from reaching the incredible speed of light. According to Albert Einstein's theory of relativity, if a human could travel at the speed of light, the effects would be devastating, as the body would experience extreme compression.

The speed of light in a vacuum is approximately 300,000 kilometers per second or 1,079,000,000 kilometers per hour. This speed is so fast that light from the Sun takes only 8 minutes and 19 seconds to reach Earth, while light reflected from the Moon takes only 1.28 seconds.

What is a light-year?

A light-year is a measure of distance that represents how far light travels in one year. For example, if a star is five light-years away, it means that, traveling at the speed of light, it would take us five years to reach it. This measurement is common in astronomy, as the distances between stars and galaxies are so vast that describing them in kilometers or miles would not be practical.