AU+Units+ICS16Coulman1

Yes because the scale tells you how big it really is on Earth. They are because it's trying to show how big it really big it is on Earth on a scale model. They are different because the scale is showing how big it is on Earth but it's actually light years a way when earth to the moon is about a million miles away.
 * Does knowing how to use a scale on a map help you understand how to use scale to measure distances in the universe? How are they similar? How are they different?


 * Vast distances in space are often measured in light-years. A light-year is the distance that light travels in one year, or about 6 trillion miles. Altair, a star in the constellation Aquila, is 16.6 light-years away, which means that the light we see now from that star left its surface 16 years and 219 days ago. Describe what was happening in the world when the light we are seeing from Altair first left that star. How far away is Altair in miles? It's very very far but i'm not sure how far it is away from the earth. = 16.6 * 6 trillion miles

It's impossible because it would take thousands of years for scientists but since it's so far away the scientists couldn't even possibly measure it.
 * Explain why it would be impossible for scientists to measure stellar distances that are accurate to within a few feet. Why is it not critical to attain such accuracy when dealing with astronomical distances?