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From: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | Date: 2008 | Copyright information

parsec [ par allax + sec ond], in astronomy, basic unit of length for measuring interstellar and intergalactic distances, equal to 206,265 times the distance from the earth to the sun, 3.26 light-years, or 3.08 × 10 ¹³ km (about 19 million million mi). The distance in parsecs of an object from the earth is the reciprocal of the parallax of the object. The nearest star, Proxima Centauri, has a parallax of 0.763′′ of arc and a distance of about 1.31 parsecs.

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Related entries from encyclopedias, dictionaries, and thesauruses

	parsec Book article from: A Dictionary of Astronomy parsec (symbol pc) A basic unit of stellar distance, corresponding to a trigonometric parallax of one second of arc (1″). In other words, it is the distance at which one astronomical unit subtends an angle of one second of arc. One parsec equals 3.2616 light years, 206 265 astronomical units, or ... Read more
	parsec Book article from: World Encyclopedia parsec ( pc ) Distance at which a star would have a parallax of one second of arc; equivalent to 3.2616 light years, 206,265 astronomical units, or 3.0857 × 10 13 km. Read more
	parsec Book article from: The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English ...abbr.: pc ) • n. a unit of distance used in astronomy, equal to about 3.25 light years (3.08 × 10 16 meters). One parsec corresponds to the distance at which the mean radius of the earth's orbit subtends an angle of one second of arc. Read more
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	pc Book article from: The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English pc • abbr. parsec. Read more