as in worlds
a huge physical or conceptual distance
my sister and I are close in age, but personality-wise, there are light-years between us
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Recent Examples of light-years
In some young star cluster within the Milky Way galaxy, about 27,000 light-years from the galactic center, a new star system has just emerged within the last 60 million years.
—
Ethan Siegel, Big Think, 2 Oct. 2025
The rogue planet, which does not orbit any star, is called Cha 1107-7626 and is outside of our solar system, 620 light-years from Earth in the Chamaeleon constellation.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2025
It is located roughly 620 light-years away in the constellation Chamaeleon.
—Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 2 Oct. 2025
Farther out, the counter-jet about 6,000 light-years from the black hole appears as two filaments connected by a hotspot, forming a faint C-shape that's consistent with radio observations, the researchers note in the study.
—Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 2 Oct. 2025
Arcturus is 37 light-years away from Earth or just under 215 trillion miles away.
—Mike Lynch, Twin Cities, 28 Sep. 2025
The Milky Way is our home galaxy with a disc of stars that spans more than 100,000 light-years.
—Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 18 Sep. 2025
The album title is a reference to a red supergiant star 10,000 light-years away from Earth.
—Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 18 Sep. 2025
Ethan Siegel, Big Think, 2 Oct. 2025
The rogue planet, which does not orbit any star, is called Cha 1107-7626 and is outside of our solar system, 620 light-years from Earth in the Chamaeleon constellation.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2025
It is located roughly 620 light-years away in the constellation Chamaeleon.
—Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 2 Oct. 2025
Farther out, the counter-jet about 6,000 light-years from the black hole appears as two filaments connected by a hotspot, forming a faint C-shape that's consistent with radio observations, the researchers note in the study.
—Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 2 Oct. 2025
Arcturus is 37 light-years away from Earth or just under 215 trillion miles away.
—Mike Lynch, Twin Cities, 28 Sep. 2025
The Milky Way is our home galaxy with a disc of stars that spans more than 100,000 light-years.
—Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 18 Sep. 2025
The album title is a reference to a red supergiant star 10,000 light-years away from Earth.
—Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 18 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for light-years
Noun
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Arnold’s new cookbook reflects both of those worlds while also serving as an accessible primer for people wanting to understand Thai cooking techniques and ingredients.—
Lisa Cericola,
Southern Living,
5 Oct. 2025
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Sprinkled with laughter and childlike energy, this debate explores the pros and cons of both worlds.—
Jordan Owens,
NPR,
4 Oct. 2025
Noun
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From even tiny initial seed fluctuations in the matter density of the Universe, star clusters, galaxies, groups and clusters of galaxies, and even larger structures like superclusters began to form.—
Ethan Siegel,
Big Think,
3 Oct. 2025
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Understanding them helps astronomers probe how black holes influence their host galaxies, regulating star formation and spreading matter and energy far into intergalactic space.—
Sharmila Kuthunur,
Space.com,
2 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Light-years.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/light-years. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.
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