astronomical unit
mean distance between Earth and the Sun, common length reference in astronomy
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Summary
astronomical unit is an unit of length[1]. It ranks in the top 4% of unit of length entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (13,990 views/month).[2]
Key Facts
- Instance of: SI-accepted non-SI unit[3], UCUM derived unit[4], non-SI unit mentioned in and accepted with the SI[5]
- Measured physical quantity: length[6]
- Opposite of: ECEF[7]
- Described by source: ISO 80000-3:2006 Quantities and units — Part 3: Space and time[8], Meyers Konversations-Lexikon, 4th edition (1885–1890)[9], Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia, vol. 1[10]
- NCI Thesaurus ID: C71246[11]
- Short name: au[12], astronomiska enheter[13], ua[14], аа[15], а.е.[16], AE[17], و.ف[18], а.и.[19]
- Different from: AE[20], AU[21], African Union[22]
- Conversion to SI unit: 149,597,870,700 m[23]
- Wikidata SPARQL query equivalent: wd:Q1811 p:P2370/psn:P2370 [wikibase:quantityAmount ?source; wikibase:quantityUnit ?base]. ?item p:P2370/psn:P2370 [wikibase:quantityAmount ?target; wikibase:quantityUnit ?base]. BIND(?source / ?target as ?value)[24]
- On focus list of Wikimedia project: Wikipedia:Vital articles/Level/4[25]
- Unit symbol: а.е.[26], а.б.[27], AU[28], ua[29], а. а.[30], CsE[31], و.ف[32], а.и.[33], a.v.[34]
Why It Matters
astronomical unit has Wikipedia articles in 30 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[35] It is known by 71 alternative names across languages and contexts.[36]