Parsec
unit of length used in astronomy / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A parsec is a unit of distance used in astronomy. It is the distance that light travels in 3.26 years, or just under 31 trillion kilometres (about 19 trillion miles).
Quick Facts General information, Unit system ...
Parsec | |
---|---|
General information | |
Unit system | astronomical units |
Unit of | length |
Symbol | pc |
Conversions | |
1 pc in ... | ... is equal to ... |
SI units | 3.0857×1016 m |
imperial & US units | 1.9174×1013 mi |
other astronomical | 2.0626×105 AU |
units | 3.26156 ly |
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This is from the definition: a parsec is the distance from the Sun to an object which has a parallax angle of one arcsecond. The technique used in the calculation is trigonometry.
It takes 3.26 years for the light to come from a parsec away.