The Sun is approximately 93 million miles (about 150 million kilometers) away from Earth on average. This average distance is known as 1 Astronomical Unit (AU), a standard unit used by scientists to simplify distances within the solar system

. Because Earth's orbit around the Sun is elliptical, this distance varies throughout the year:

• At perihelion (closest approach, around early January), the distance is about 91 million miles (147 million kilometers).
• At aphelion (farthest point, around early July), the distance is about 94.5 million miles (152 million kilometers)

Light from the Sun takes about 8 minutes and 20 seconds to reach Earth, which means if the Sun were to suddenly disappear, we would not notice for over 8 minutes

. To put the distance in perspective, traveling to the Sun at typical car speeds (60 mph) would take over 177 years, and even a commercial jet flying at 600 mph would take more than 17 years to reach it

. In summary:

• Average distance: ~93 million miles / 150 million km (1 AU)
• Closest distance (perihelion): ~91 million miles / 147 million km
• Farthest distance (aphelion): ~94.5 million miles / 152 million km
• Light travel time: ~8 minutes 20 seconds