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Glite Dictionary
light hour

light hour

8.1
The distance light travels in empty space in one hour, about one billion kilometers
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : hora luz
  • The closest star system is about four light hours away, making it a challenging target for exploration.
  • light hours away

Examples

  • I'm about 13.5 light hours from Earth, or 14,570,000,000 km.

    Blog text (1)

  • The spacecraft is currently positioned almost two light hours from Earth, traveling towards Mars.

  • It takes light about one light hour to travel the distance of just over 1 billion kilometers in space.

How Far

light-year
  • Specialized
109 4.9
light time
  • Specialized
8.6
light hour
  • Specialized
8.1
light minute
  • Specialized
1 8.1
light second
  • Specialized
6.7

Surface Forms

light hour singular
light hours plural

Morphology

light + hour

The meaning is directly and compositionally derivable from 'light' (electromagnetic radiation) + 'hour' (a 60-minute period): it denotes the distance light travels in one hour. This follows regular English measurement-compound patterns (compare 'light-year', 'light-minute'), so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can infer the meaning.

Etymology

Light hour comes from a simple image: light moving for one hour. Imagine a very fast car driving without stopping for 60 minutes — the distance it covers is a light hour, so the term means 'the distance' light travels in one hour.