[pahr-sek] 
| a unit of distance equal to that required to cause a heliocentric parallax of one second of an arc, equivalent to 206,265 times the distance from the earth to the sun, or 3.26 light-years. |
| par·sec (pär'sěk') n. A unit of astronomical length based on the distance from Earth at which stellar parallax is one second of arc and equal to 3.258 light-years, 3.086 × 1013 kilometers, or 1.918 × 1013 miles. [par(allax) + sec(ond)1.] |
| parsec (pär'sěk') Pronunciation Key
A unit of astronomical length equal to 3.26 light-years. It is based on the distance from Earth at which a star would have a parallax of one second of arc. Its metric equivalent is about 30.8 trillion km (19.1 trillion mi). It is used in measuring distances in interstellar and intergalactic space. The closest star to Earth, Alpha Centauri, is about 1.3 parsecs away. Compare astronomical unit, light-year. |
PARSEC
Extensible language with PL/I-like syntax, derived from PROTEUS. "PARSEC User's Manual", Bolt Beranek & Newman (Dec 1972).
| parsec parallax second |
