I wish the astronomers would! In the Introductory Astronomy class I taught in the Summer I semester, that's exactly what we did. We did not use parsecs, light-years, miles, or any other non-metric units (except for degrees, minutes, and seconds of arc). The IAU reference that pertains here is posted on my Neat Astronomy Links page on my college web site: http://www.cofc.edu/~frysingj Mardan, why don't you write to the American Astronomical Society and pose your question to them? http://www.aas.org/
Jim M R wrote: .... > Certainly the saying like 500 terawatt-hours is easier > than saying 500 billion kilowatt-hours. So why not > the astronomers use the term mega-meters or > giga-meters > to indicate the distance of stars far away instead of > using AU. Even the oil and coal consumption can be > stated as 500 tera-grams instead of 500 million tons. .... -- Metric Methods(SM) "Don't be late to metricate!" James R. Frysinger, CAMS http://www.metricmethods.com/ 10 Captiva Row e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Charleston, SC 29407 phone/FAX: 843.225.6789
