Metric Tons to Solar Masses (t to M☉)
1 metric ton equals 5.02899214×10⁻²⁸ solar masses (rounded).
How to convert metric tons to solar masses
To convert metric tons to solar masses, multiply the number of metric tons by 5.02899214×10⁻²⁸. The factor is rounded to 10 significant digits. To go the other way, multiply solar masses by 1.98847×10²⁷.
solar masses = metric tons × 5.02899214×10⁻²⁸
Example: 10 metric tons = 5.02899214×10⁻²⁷ solar masses.
Approximate value. Standards for the solar mass varied by place and period, so this converter uses the most commonly cited value. Treat results as estimates, not exact figures.
About these units
Metric Ton (t)
1,000 kilograms (about 2,204.6 lb), also spelled tonne. Used for cargo, grain and vehicle weights outside the US.
Barrels gave the tonne its name. The word goes back to a Germanic root for a large cask, the tun, and a full tun could easily weigh around a tonne. In English this became ton; the spelling tonne has been used in France since 1842, where it replaced the older tonneau, and pre-metric French tonnes were 2,000 livres, about 979 kg. Once the metric system took hold, the tonne was fixed at 1,000 kilograms, which is the mass of roughly a cubic metre of water.
The unit is accepted for use with the SI, and its symbol is a lowercase t with no period. Because it sits close to the old English ton, the two get confused: the short ton used in the US is about 10 percent lighter than a tonne, while the long ton differs by less than 2 percent. NIST calls the unit the metric ton, and the spelling tonne is rare in the US. Very large quantities are stated in prefixed forms such as the megatonne, which equals a teragram. In explosives, a tonne of TNT is taken as about 4.2 gigajoules.
1 metric ton = 1,000 kilograms (exactly).
Sources: Wikipedia: Tonne; Wikipedia: Ton; NIST Guide to the SI, Appendix B.8 (mass conversions)
Solar Mass (M☉)
About 1.988×10³⁰ kg, the mass of the Sun (roughly 332,946 Earths). Used for stars and galaxies.
The solar mass is the mass of the Sun used as the standard weight for stars, black holes and galaxies. The best estimate is about 1.98847 x 10^30 kg, with an uncertainty near 0.005 percent, while the International Astronomical Union's nominal value is 1.988416 x 10^30 kg. That is about 332,946 Earth masses, commonly rounded to 333,000.
Isaac Newton made the first known estimate in the Principia of 1687, putting the Earth to Sun mass ratio at about 1 to 28,700. In the third edition he revised this to 1 to 169,282 after finding that his solar parallax was faulty. Transits of Venus in 1761 and 1769 later improved the Sun's distance, and Cavendish's 1798 measurement gave a usable value of G.
The unit predates precise values of G and the astronomical unit, and it survives because Kepler's third law lets astronomers compute the masses of planets and binary stars directly from orbital data in solar units. The product GM of the Sun is known far better than the mass itself.
1 solar mass = 1.98847×10³⁰ kilograms (approximately).
Sources: Wikipedia: Solar mass
Related conversions
- Solar masses to metric tons (reverse)
- Metric tons to kilograms
- Metric tons to grams
- Metric tons to pounds
- Metric tons to ounces
- Metric tons to milligrams
- Metric tons to micrograms
- Metric tons to carats
- Metric tons to stone
- Metric tons to short tons
- Metric tons to long tons
- Metric tons to troy ounces
- Metric tons to daltons
- Kilograms to solar masses
- Grams to solar masses
- Pounds to solar masses
- Ounces to solar masses
See all weight & mass units.