Measuring Motion

Speed is the measure of motion. You can find it by dividing the distance covered by the time it takes to travel that distance.

Speed of Light

Light travels through space at 186,000 miles per second.

Light-Year

A light ray travels 5.88 trillion miles a year in space.

Star Distance

The star Sirius is 9 light-years away from the solar system.

More Earthly Speeds

• Cheetah: 70 mph
• White-tailed deer: 32 mph
• Human being: 27.89 mph
• Garden snail: 0.03 mph
• Fastest automobile: 205 mph
• Fastest train: 252 mph
• Fastest helicopter: 249.10 mph
• Fastest jet: 2,193.167 mph

Fact Monster/Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

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