# Astronomical Units to Nanometers (au to nm)

Source: https://www.unitconvertercalculator.com/length/astronomical-units-to-nanometers/

**1 au = 1.495978707E+20 nm**

One astronomical unit equals approximately 1.496 x 1020 nanometers, or about 150 quintillion nanometers. This conversion connects the solar system distance scale with the nanotechnology scale used for semiconductor features, DNA, and virus particles.

## Formula

Convert Astronomical Units to Nanometers

## Conversion Table

| Astronomical Units (au) | Nanometers (nm) |
|---|---|
| 1.0E-18 au | 149.5978707 nm |
| 1.0E-17 au | 1495.978707 nm |
| 1.0E-16 au | 14959.78707 nm |
| 1.0E-15 au | 149597.8707 nm |
| 1.0E-14 au | 1495978.707 nm |
| 1.0E-13 au | 14959787.07 nm |
| 1.0E-12 au | 149597870.7 nm |
| 1.0E-11 au | 1495978707 nm |
| 1.0E-10 au | 14959787070 nm |
| 1.0E-9 au | 149597870700 nm |
| 1.0E-8 au | 1495978707000 nm |

## Units

### 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.

### Nanometer (nm)

One billionth of a meter. Used to measure wavelengths of light, semiconductor chip features, and molecular structures.

## Background

The Earth-Sun distance is about 150 quintillion nanometers. A 3-nm semiconductor chip transistor is 2 x 10-20 AU across. A DNA strand at 2.5 nm is 1.7 x 10-20 AU wide. These numbers demonstrate the 20-order-of-magnitude gap between nanoscale technology and planetary distances.

## Good to Know

The nanometer defines modern technology (3-nm chips, 100-nm nanoparticles), while the AU defines our place in the solar system. Both are fundamental to modern civilization but at incompatible scales.

## FAQ

### How many nanometers are in 1 AU?

One AU contains approximately 1.496 x 1020 nanometers (about 150 quintillion nm). Since 1 AU = 149,597,870,700 m and 1 m = 109 nm, multiply.

### How small is a nanometer compared to 1 AU?

A nanometer is 6.685 x 10-21 AU. You would need to line up about 150 quintillion nanometer-scale objects to span the Earth-Sun distance.

### Is this conversion used in nanotechnology?

No. Nanotechnology works in nanometers. Astronomy works in AU, light-years, and parsecs. These fields never need to convert between each other's units.

## Non-Frequently Asked Questions

### How many DNA strands end-to-end span 1 AU?

Human DNA is about 2.5 nm wide. 1 AU is about 1.496 x 1020 nm. So about 60 quintillion DNA widths span the Earth-Sun distance. But a single human cell's DNA uncoiled is about 2 meters long, so just 75 billion uncoiled DNA molecules would reach the Sun.

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## See Also

- [Nanometers to Astronomical Units](https://www.unitconvertercalculator.com/length/nanometers-to-astronomical-units/)