Knot (UK) to Earth's Velocity

The UK knot is a historical variation of the knot based on the British nautical mile (6,080 feet) rather than the international nautical mile (6,076.12 feet).

1 UK knot ≈ 1.853184 km/h = 0.5148 m/s. Slightly faster than the international knot (1.852 km/h).

To international knots: × 1.00064. To km/h: × 1.853. To m/s: × 0.5148.

None in modern use. Only relevant for interpreting historical British naval records.

The difference between UK and international knots is only 0.064% — barely noticeable but important for precise navigation.

Assuming all old British ship logs use the same knot as today — they don't, but the difference is tiny.

Historical only. Effectively identical to modern knot. Only matters for historical maritime research.

Earth's orbital velocity around the Sun is approximately 29,765 m/s (29.8 km/s), the speed at which our planet travels through space.

v = 2πr/T where r is Earth's orbital radius (~150 million km) and T is one year. Result: ~29.8 km/s.

To km/h: × 3,600. To mph: × 66,600. 29.8 km/s = 107,280 km/h = 66,660 mph.

Interplanetary mission Δv calculations, understanding Earth's motion, and cosmic velocity references.

We're all traveling at ~30 km/s around the Sun right now. In one second, Earth moves 30 km — about 19 miles!

Forgetting about Earth's motion when calculating interplanetary trajectories — it provides free velocity!

~30 km/s around the Sun. We travel 940 million km per year at this speed. Missions to other planets add/subtract from this.