# Thou to Astronomical Units (thou to au) Source: https://www.unitconvertercalculator.com/length/thou-to-astronomical-units/ **1 thou = 1.6978851290562E-16 au** One thou equals approximately 1.699 x 10-16 AU. The Earth-Sun distance (1 AU) is about 5.886 x 1015 thou. The thou measures precision engineering; the AU measures planetary orbits. ## Formula Convert Thou to Astronomical Units ## Conversion Table | Thou (thou) | Astronomical Units (au) | |---|---| | 1 thou | 1.6978E-16 au | | 100 thou | 1.697885E-14 au | | 10000 thou | 1.69788512E-12 au | | 1000000 thou | 1.697885129E-10 au | | 100000000 thou | 1.697885129056E-8 au | | 10000000000 thou | 1.6978851290562E-6 au | | 1000000000000 thou | 0.00016978851290562 au | | 100000000000000 thou | 0.016978851290562 au | | 10000000000000000 thou | 1.6978851290562 au | ## Units ### Thou (thou) One thousandth of an inch (0.0254 mm). Also called a mil in the US. Used in engineering, manufacturing, and for measuring thin materials like plastic film. ### 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. ## Background 1 AU = about 5.886 quadrillion thou. A 1-thou tolerance band is unfathomably small compared to planetary distances. ## Good to Know Spacecraft are built to thou-level tolerances for AU-level missions. Every bolt, seal, and joint on a Mars probe is specified in thou (or mm). The probe then travels 0.5-2.5 AU. The thou builds the machine; the AU is the mission. ## FAQ ### How many AU is 1 thou? One thou equals approximately 1.699 x 10-16 AU. ### How many thou are in 1 AU? One AU contains approximately 5.886 x 1015 thou. ### Is this conversion used? Never. Precision machining and planetary astronomy share no practical domain. ## Non-Frequently Asked Questions ### How many thou is the Earth-Moon distance? The Moon is about 0.00257 AU = about 15.13 billion thou. Every thou of spacecraft tolerance must survive 15 billion thou of travel to the Moon. Space engineering: thou-level precision at billion-thou distances. ### How many business cards thick is 1 AU? A business card is about 14 thou. 1 AU (5.886 x 1015 thou) = about 420 trillion business cards. Networking across the solar system requires a lot of cards. ### If every thou of wire ever made were connected, how many AU? Global copper wire production is roughly 1 billion km/year = about 39 trillion thou/year. Over 100 years: 3.9 quadrillion thou = about 0.66 AU. All wire in human history reaches about 2/3 of the way to the Sun. Close but not quite. ## Related Articles - [Why We Measure: The Deepest Urge in Human Civilisation](https://www.unitconvertercalculator.com/blog/why-we-measure) - [The Map Is Not the Territory: Why Every Measurement Is Wrong](https://www.unitconvertercalculator.com/blog/the-map-is-not-the-territory) - [Zero: The Most Dangerous Number in Measurement](https://www.unitconvertercalculator.com/blog/zero-the-most-dangerous-number-in-measurement) - [The Body as a Ruler: Every Measurement Unit That Came From Us](https://www.unitconvertercalculator.com/blog/the-body-as-a-ruler) - [The Speed of Everything: How We Measure From Glaciers to Light](https://www.unitconvertercalculator.com/blog/the-speed-of-everything) - [15 Obscure Measurement Units You've Never Heard Of (But Still Need)](https://www.unitconvertercalculator.com/blog/obscure-measurement-units-guide) - [When Measurements Go Wrong - Disasters, Blunders and Happy Accidents](https://www.unitconvertercalculator.com/blog/when-measurements-go-wrong) - [The Surprising Stories Behind Everyday Units of Measurement](https://www.unitconvertercalculator.com/blog/stories-behind-measurement-units) - [Metric vs. Imperial - The Complete Guide to the World's Two Measurement Systems](https://www.unitconvertercalculator.com/blog/metric-vs-imperial-complete-guide) - [Length & Distance Conversion Guide - Meters, Feet, Miles & Kilometers](https://www.unitconvertercalculator.com/blog/length-and-distance-guide) ## See Also - [Astronomical Units to Thou](https://www.unitconvertercalculator.com/length/astronomical-units-to-thou/)