section_path: Practical effects of finiteness/Distance measurement
section_name: Distance measurement
paragraph_text: Distance measurement
  
  Radar systems measure the distance to a target by the time it takes a radio-wave pulse to return to the radar antenna after being reflected by the target: the distance to the target is half the round-trip transit time multiplied by the speed of light. A Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver measures its distance to GPS satellites based on how long it takes for a radio signal to arrive from each satellite, and from these distances calculates the receiver's position. Because light travels about 300 000 kilometres (186 000 mi) in one second, these measurements of small fractions of a second must be very precise. The Lunar Laser Ranging experiment, radar astronomy and the Deep Space Network determine distances to the Moon, planets and spacecraft, respectively, by measuring round-trip transit times.