The astronomical unit (AU) is the standard yardstick for measuring distances within the Solar System. This converter turns AU into kilometres and kilometres into AU using the exact value fixed by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 2012. It is handy for students, astronomy enthusiasts and anyone making sense of planetary distances.
How it works
One AU is the average distance from Earth to the Sun, defined as exactly 149,597,870.7 km. The conversion is a simple multiplication or division:
- AU → km: multiply the number of AU by 149,597,870.7.
- km → AU: divide the distance in km by 149,597,870.7.
Type a value into either box and the other updates instantly using this exact factor.
Example
Jupiter orbits the Sun at about 5.2 AU. In kilometres:
5.2 × 149,597,870.7 ≈ 777.9 million km.
| Object | Distance from Sun (AU) | Distance (million km) |
|---|---|---|
| Earth | 1 | 149.6 |
| Mars | 1.52 | 227.4 |
| Jupiter | 5.2 | 777.9 |
| Neptune | 30.1 | 4502.9 |
The conversion is pure arithmetic that runs entirely in your browser, with no network requests.