Convert length and distance units — meters, feet, inches, kilometers, miles, light years and more.
| Unit | Name | Value |
|---|---|---|
| 0.001 in | 1.698e-16 au | |
| 0.01 in | 1.698e-15 au | |
| 0.1 in | 1.698e-14 au | |
| 1 in | 1.698e-13 au | |
| 5 in | 8.489e-13 au | |
| 10 in | 1.698e-12 au | |
| 50 in | 8.489e-12 au | |
| 100 in | 1.698e-11 au | |
| 1000 in | 1.698e-10 au |
Multiply the number of Inchs by 1.6979×10-13 to get Astronomical Units. Formula: au = in × 1.6979×10-13. Example: 10 in × 1.6979×10-13 = 1.6979×10-12 au. To reverse, divide Astronomical Units by 1.6979×10-13 to get Inchs.
| Inch (in) | Astronomical Unit (au) |
|---|---|
| 0.001 in | 1.6979×10-16 au |
| 0.01 in | 1.6979×10-15 au |
| 0.1 in | 1.6979×10-14 au |
| 0.5 in | 8.4893×10-14 au |
| 1 in | 1.6979×10-13 au |
| 2 in | 3.3957×10-13 au |
| 5 in | 8.4893×10-13 au |
| 10 in | 1.6979×10-12 au |
| 20 in | 3.3957×10-12 au |
| 50 in | 8.4893×10-12 au |
| 100 in | 1.6979×10-11 au |
| 250 in | 4.2447×10-11 au |
| 500 in | 8.4893×10-11 au |
| 1000 in | 1.6979×10-10 au |
| 10000 in | 1.6979×10-9 au |
To convert Inch to Astronomical Unit, multiply by 1.6979×10-13. Example: 10 in = 1.6979×10-12 au
To convert Astronomical Unit back to Inch, divide by 1.6979×10-13 (multiply by 5.8898×1012). Use the swap button above.
Start with 100 Inchs = 1.6979×10-11 au as your reference point. Scale up or down from there.
The classic classroom solar system model at 1 AU = 1 inch scale puts Mercury at 0.39 inches from the "Sun" and Neptune at 30 inches — fitting on a desk. US science teachers build these to make planetary distances intuitive.
US aerospace engineers specify hardware dimensions in inches while orbital distances use AU. Both units appear in the same mission document — component dimensions in inches, trajectory distances in AU.
1 AU = 5.89×10¹² inches — nearly 6 trillion inches. Science communicators use this to make the Earth-Sun distance tangible for US audiences: "5.9 trillion inch-rulers laid end to end reaches the Sun."
American university physics courses use inch-to-AU conversion in dimensional analysis exercises — requiring students to bridge US customary units with astronomical standards used in planetary science.
US amateur astronomers who think in inches and feet convert AU distances to inches for scale comparison: "Jupiter is 5.2 AU from the Sun — that's 30.6 trillion inches, or 483 million miles."
Hubble's primary mirror is 94.5 inches (2.4 m) in diameter while targets are measured in AU and parsecs. Engineers and astronomers bridge both scales in every telescope performance specification.
The Inch is a unit of Length measurement (symbol: in). 1 in = 1.6979×10-13 au. Used in scientific and practical Length measurement applications.
The Astronomical Unit is a unit of Length measurement (symbol: au). It is part of an internationally recognised measurement system used alongside the Inch.
The inch has one of the most colourful origin stories in measurement history. An English statute from 1324 under King Edward II defined it as 'three grains of barley, dry and round, placed end to end'. Before that, it was often defined as the width of a thumb — hence the word in many languages (French: 'pouce', Dutch: 'duim', both meaning thumb). The inch was standardised at exactly 25.4 mm in 1959 under the International Yard and Pound Agreement signed by the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and South Africa. It remains dominant in the US and is universally used for screen sizes globally.
The astronomical unit has ancient roots — Aristarchus of Samos attempted to measure the Earth-Sun distance around 270 BC. For centuries the AU was estimated using Venus transit observations. Edmond Halley organised the first coordinated international transit-of-Venus expedition in 1716. The modern value was determined by radar ranging to Venus in 1961. The IAU formally defined the AU as exactly 149,597,870,700 metres in 2012 — a fixed constant of physics, not a measured distance.
Common use: Inch to Astronomical Unit conversion is needed when working with international standards, scientific publications, or reference materials that use different unit systems for Length measurement.