How many AU is 1 chain?

One chain equals approximately 1.345 x 10-10 AU (about 0.135 billionths of an AU). The chain is vanishingly small on the astronomical scale.

How many chains would it take to reach the Sun?

Approximately 7.43 billion chains (7.43 x 109) placed end to end would span 1 AU, the Earth-Sun distance.

Is this conversion ever used?

No. Chains measure farm fields and property boundaries. AU measures planetary orbits. They belong to completely separate measurement domains with no overlap.

Chains to Astronomical Units (ch to au) Converter

1 ch = 1.34473 × 10⁻¹⁰ au

1 Chain equals 1.34473 × 10⁻¹⁰ Astronomical Units (1 ch = 1.34473 × 10⁻¹⁰ au). Convert Chains to Astronomical Units with formula, table, and examples.

One chain equals approximately 1.345 x 10^-10 astronomical units, or about 0.135 billionths of an AU. At 66 feet (20.1168 m), the surveyor's chain is incomprehensibly tiny compared to the Earth-Sun distance of 149.6 million km. This conversion has no practical application.

How to Convert Chains to Astronomical Units

au = ch × 1.34473 × 10⁻¹⁰

Multiply the value in Chains by 1.34473 × 10⁻¹⁰

Take your value in Chains
Multiply by 1.34473 × 10⁻¹⁰
Read the result in Astronomical Units

Common Chains to Astronomical Units Conversions

Chains (ch)	Astronomical Units (au)	Status
1 ch	1.34473 × 10⁻¹⁰ au
10 ch	1.34473 × 10⁻⁹ au
80 ch	1.07578 × 10⁻⁸ au
100 ch	1.34473 × 10⁻⁸ au
1,000 ch	1.34473 × 10⁻⁷ au
10,000 ch	0.000001 au
100,000 ch	0.00001 au
1,000,000 ch	0.0001 au
10,000,000 ch	0.0013 au
100,000,000 ch	0.0134 au

Good to Know About Chains to Astronomical Units Conversion

Gunter designed his chain to make land area calculations simple: 10 square chains = 1 acre. The AU was designed to simplify orbital mechanics. Both are elegant solutions to their respective problems, just at scales 10 billion times apart.

Chains to Astronomical Units: What You Need to Know

You would need about 7.43 billion chains laid end to end to reach from Earth to the Sun. The entire US Public Land Survey, conducted in chains, covered only a fraction of the Earth's surface, which itself is a tiny dot at the AU scale. These measurement systems exist in completely separate universes.

What is a Chain? ch

Exactly 66 feet or 4 rods (20.1168 m). Invented by Edmund Gunter for land surveying. 80 chains make one mile. Still used in US public land surveys.

Imperial land surveying US public land

Learn more about Chain →

What is a Astronomical Unit? au

Exactly 149,597,870,700 meters by IAU 2012 definition. Roughly the average distance from the Earth to the Sun. Used for distances within our solar system.

Astronomical solar system distances astronomy planetary science

Learn more about Astronomical Unit →

Going the other way? Use our Astronomical Units to Chains converter.

Chains to Astronomical Units FAQ

One chain equals approximately 1.345 x 10^-10 AU (about 0.135 billionths of an AU). The chain is vanishingly small on the astronomical scale.
Approximately 7.43 billion chains (7.43 x 10⁹) placed end to end would span 1 AU, the Earth-Sun distance.
No. Chains measure farm fields and property boundaries. AU measures planetary orbits. They belong to completely separate measurement domains with no overlap.

Non-Frequently Asked Questions About Chains to Astronomical Units

Questions nobody should ask - but someone did.

About 7.4 billion chains (149.6 million km / 20.1 m per chain). You would also need very heat-resistant chain links for the last few million kilometers. Not recommended.