# Light-years to Chains (ly to ch)

Source: https://www.unitconvertercalculator.com/length/light-years-to-chains/

**1 ly = 4.7029002985469E+14 ch**

One light-year equals approximately 4.703 x 1014 chains (about 470 trillion). A light-year measures interstellar distances; a chain (66 feet / 20.12 m) measures English land parcels. These units have never interacted outside of conversion tables.

## Formula

Convert Light-years to Chains

## Conversion Table

| Light-years (ly) | Chains (ch) |
|---|---|
| 1.0E-11 ly | 4702.9002985469 ch |
| 1.0E-10 ly | 47029.002985469 ch |
| 1.0E-9 ly | 470290.02985469 ch |
| 1.0E-8 ly | 4702900.2985469 ch |
| 1.0E-7 ly | 47029002.985469 ch |
| 1.0E-6 ly | 470290029.85469 ch |
| 1.0E-5 ly | 4702900298.5469 ch |
| 0.0001 ly | 47029002985.469 ch |
| 0.001 ly | 470290029854.69 ch |
| 0.01 ly | 4702900298546.9 ch |
| 0.1 ly | 47029002985469 ch |
| 1 ly | 4.7029002985469E+14 ch |
| 4.24 ly | 1.9940297265839E+15 ch |

## Units

### Light-year (ly)

The distance light travels in one Julian year (365.25 days) in vacuum. Exactly 9,460,730,472,580,800 meters. Used for interstellar distances.

### 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.

## Background

A chain is 2.125 x 10-15 light-years. Proxima Centauri at 4.24 light-years is about 1.99 x 1015 chains away (2 quadrillion chains). If Gunter had tried to survey the distance to the nearest star with his chain, he would have been very busy.

## Good to Know

Gunter invented his chain in the 1620s for English farmland. The light-year concept emerged in the 1830s for stellar distances. These units were born 200 years apart for purposes separated by 15 orders of magnitude. They have nothing in common except being human inventions.

## FAQ

### How many chains are in 1 light-year?

One light-year contains approximately 4.703 x 1014 chains (about 470 trillion).

### How many light-years is 1 chain?

One chain equals approximately 2.125 x 10-15 light-years.

### Is this conversion useful?

No. Land surveying and interstellar measurement serve completely different purposes at completely different scales.

## Non-Frequently Asked Questions

### How many cricket pitches to the nearest star?

A cricket pitch is 1 chain. Proxima Centauri is about 2 quadrillion chains away. That is 2 quadrillion cricket pitches end-to-end. Even the ICC cannot schedule that many matches.

### If every link of every chain ever made were laid out, would it reach a star?

A chain has 100 links. Millions of chains were manufactured over 400 years. Even if 100 million chains existed (10 billion links at 7.92 inches each), they would span about 200,000 km - less than the Moon distance. Stars are much farther. Humanity has not produced enough chain.

### How long would a surveyor need to chain-measure 1 light-year?

A surveyor laying chains end-to-end at 1 chain per minute would need 470 trillion minutes = 894 million years. The dinosaurs went extinct 66 million years ago. Your survey would start before T. rex and you would still not be done.

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## See Also

- [Chains to Light-years](https://www.unitconvertercalculator.com/length/chains-to-light-years/)