Problem: Distances in space are often quoted in units of light years, the distance light travels in one year. In June 2012, the Subaru Telescope in Hawaii discovered one of the farthest galaxies ever seen. Named SXDF-NB1006-2, it is around 12.9 Gly from  Earth. How far away is this galaxy in meters?

FREE Expert Solution

One light-year:

$\boxed{\mathbf{1}\mathbf{ }\mathbf{l}\mathbf{y}\mathbf{=}\mathbf{9}\mathbf{.}\mathbf{4545}\mathbf{\times }{\mathbf{10}}^{\mathbf{15}}\mathbf{ }\mathbf{m}}$

12.9 Gly(10⁹ly/1Gly) = 12.9 × 10⁹ ly