How long would it take radio signals to travel from Earth to Venus and back?
by 
Mark Hixon
ANSWERS: 2
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Since all electromagnetic wavelengths travel at the speed of light in a perfect vacuum, you simply have to know the distance and get the units of measure correct to figure this out. The speed of light is 299,792 km/s. Distance from Earth to Venus is 41,400,000 km. Divide the speed into the distance to get the time for a one way trip in seconds: 41,400,000/299,792=138.1 seconds. Round trip is: 138.1 X 2=276.2 seconds. Now convert seconds into minutes & seconds: 276.2/60 =4 with a remainder of 36.2. Your answer is 4 minutes, 36 seconds.
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Depends where they are in their respective orbits. Since Earth averages about 93 million miles from the Sun and Venus averages about 67 million miles, the distance between them could vary from (approximately) 26 to 160 million miles. Pick a distance, divide by the speed of light (roughly 186,000 miles per second), double the answer for the round trip and there you are.
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