How big, REALLY, is a light year?
The term has become cliche. But by applying some basic math, the true scale of the Cosmos can be better appreciated.
Electromagnetic radiation is the fastest physical phenomenon in the Universe. Nothing else comes close. Light speed is a constant – 186,282 miles per second; multiplied by 3,600 seconds per hour equals 670,615,200 mph. Chew on that number for a moment. At that constant velocity, light travels 5.88 trillion miles in a calendar year; 5.88 million million miles.
Gravity is pulling matter into the center in a freefall spiral – like water down a drain, but with no physical resistance. Astronomers have measured the stars near the center of the Galaxy, and the stars at the far reaches of the Galaxy, to travel at 220 kilometers per second. There are .621 miles in a kilometer, so gravity is pulling all the stars and dust inward at 136.62 mi/sec – or 491,832 mph. This is more than 12 times faster than Voyager I is leaving the helioshpere. This equals 11.8 million miles per day; 4.31 billion miles each year.
A light year is so vast, even at 11,803,968 miles each day, it takes 499,020.03 days to travel one light year.
By measuring the Fibonacci spiral in geologic time, it has been shown that our Sun formed one million light years from the Galactic center. We have only spiraled around twice in 4.85 billion years; but at 40,870.7 LY per FSS times 87 total FSS, the Solar system has journeyed 3,555,759.6 light years over the course of Time.
By logical deduction, this makes the Milky Way Galaxy at least 2 million light years across – more than ten times larger than previous estimates. Which infers that other galaxies are more than ten times further away than believed.
Galactic Furnace Theory 