AU: short for "astronomical unit:" the distance of the Earth from the Sun, or 93 million miles. The AU is used as a unit of astronomical distance, or measurement, usually between objects in or near the solar system. For example, Jupiter is 5.
Astronomical unit. Mean distance of Earth to Sun, or 92,900,000 miles; employed as a unit for indicating intra-solar system distances.
Intra-solar system distances are measured in astronomical units. An astronomical Unit is the mean distance of the Earth from the Sun, about 92,930,000 miles, where it is found in April and October, ...
7 AU or astronomical units). When it is farthest away from the sun (aphelion), it is 4.6 billion miles away from the sun (or 7.4 billion kilometers, or 29.5 AU).
This assumption was strengthened in 1781 when William Herschel identified Uranus at a distance of 19.2 astronomical units, very close to the predicted position after Saturn, which gives a result according to Bode's law of 19.6.
The two most eccentrically-moving planets, Chiron and Pluto, vary greatly in their orbital distances from the Sun, while to other planets have only small variations - their orbits are near-circular. Distances are expressed in Astronomical Units (AU), ...
The surface gravity is given in reference to the surface gravity of the Earth which is given a value if 1. The heliocentric distance is given in Astronomical Units (A.U.). One A.U. is equivalent to the average Sun-Earth distance of 149,500,000 km.
 See also: Planet, Venus, Sun, Pluto, Ecliptic
  
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