3 ms·

Are you off by an order of magnitude here? The closest star to the Sun would be around 4 light years

• raxxorraxor 4y ago
  No, I meant this particular planet. If you travel aboard a ship going that fast, the time dilation would ensure it would just take a bit under a year. For everyone else it would take longer than 558 years of course.
  • mickotron 4y ago
    Can you please ELI5 why it would only take a year? Asking for a friend..
    • rishav_sharan 4y ago
      Essentially the closer you move at the speed of light, time flows slower for you. So, if you are in a rocket which is moving at close to c, for you the journey to Alpha Centauri which is 4 light years away may be like just an year. But for us outside of your rocket, it would likely be more than 4 years. If you were to goto Alpha Centauri and then back to Earth, you may have spent just 2 years in your rocket. But when you get out of your rocket, you will find that 8 years have gone by on Earth. Taking a lot of liberties with my explanation, but hope this ELI5 works.