To the nearest minute, how long does it take for light to travel from the Sun to the Earth?

The story behind the answer

Light travels at about 300,000 km/s, and the average Sun–Earth distance is 1 astronomical unit (about 150 million km). Time = distance ÷ speed ≈ 150,000,000 ÷ 300,000 = 500 seconds—about 8 minutes 20 seconds—so to the nearest minute it’s 8 minutes.

This means the sunlight you see left the Sun over eight minutes ago. Because Earth’s orbit is slightly elliptical, the travel time varies by a few seconds across the year. Astronomers use the same idea to express huge distances in light-minutes, hours, and years. Memory tip: “Eight minutes from sunlight to sight.”