The term astronomical value has two main meanings. First, in everyday language, it refers to something extremely large or excessive, like an astronomical price. Second, in astronomy, it refers to actual numerical values used in space measurements, such as the 93 million mile distance between Earth and the Sun.
In everyday language, astronomical value means something extremely large or excessive. We use this term for astronomical prices, astronomical debt, or astronomical numbers. This figurative meaning comes from comparing these large values to the vast scales we find in space, like distances between planets and stars.
In astronomy, astronomical value refers to actual numerical values used in space measurements. These include distances measured in astronomical units or light-years, masses in solar masses, temperatures in Kelvin, and time scales in billions of years. For example, one astronomical unit is 93 million miles, while the nearest star is 4.24 light-years away, which equals 25 trillion miles.
The term astronomical comes from the incredible scales found in space. While human scales involve feet, miles, or thousands of miles, astronomical scales involve millions, billions, or trillions of miles. This vast difference in scale is why we use 'astronomical' to describe anything extremely large in everyday language.
In summary, astronomical value has two distinct meanings. The figurative meaning refers to something extremely large or excessive in everyday language, like astronomical prices. The literal meaning refers to actual numerical values used in astronomy, such as distances and masses. Both meanings ultimately reflect the incredible scales found in our universe, which is why the term astronomical has become synonymous with extremely large values.