parsec

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par·sec

 (pär′sĕk′)
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.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

parsec

(ˈpɑːˌsɛk)
n
(Units) a unit of astronomical distance equal to the distance from earth at which stellar parallax would be 1 second of arc; equivalent to 3.0857 × 1016 m or 3.262 light years
[C20: from parallax + second2]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

par•sec

(ˈpɑrˌsɛk)

n.
a unit of distance equal to 206,265 times the distance from the earth to the sun, or 3.26 light years.
[1910–15; par (allax) + sec (ond)2]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

par·sec

(pär′sĕk′)
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.
The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

parsec

1. (pc) The distance at which 1 au would measure 1 sec of arc, equal to 19.16 trillion mi (30.857 trillion km) or 206,265 au or 3.26 ly (1).
2. (pc) A unit of length used for measuring astronomical distances. 1 parsec = 3.26 light years.
Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.parsec - a unit of astronomical length based on the distance from Earth at which stellar parallax is 1 second of arc; equivalent to 3.262 light years
astronomy unit - a linear unit used for astronomical distances
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
Parsec

parsec

[ˈpɑːsek] Nparsec m
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
References in periodicals archive ?
Based on a "telltale" layer of iron-60 deposits lining the world's sea beds, astronomers have high confidence supernovae exploded in Earth's immediate cosmic neighborhood -- between 100 and only 50 parsecs (163 light years) away -- during the transition from the Pliocene Epoch to the Ice Age.
Their cosmic equivalent would be the existence of huge self-trapped dark matter solitons that constitute the core of typical galaxies, with sizes in the hundreds or thousands of parsecs. In a sense, they act as waveguides for the galaxies that are trapped in the zone of highest gravitational attraction.
[Peter] van de Kamp [reported that] Sproul Observatory is making a systematic photographic study of all stars within 10 parsecs (33 light-years) and within reach of the 24-inch refractor.
In the original 1977 film, Harrison Ford's Han Solo boasted of having navigated this apparently deadly hyperspace route in "less than 12 parsecs".
Solo: A Star Wars Story focuses on the iconic rogue pilot Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) in his younger years, as we see him engage with some milestone moments from the character's history: his first love with Qi'ra (Emilia Clarke), meeting Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo), obtaining the Millenium Falcon, making the kessel run in less than twelve parsecs, and his fateful gambling match with a smooth-talking Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover).
Every dozen parsecs or so, the "Star Wars" universe seems to expand.
It is a time when he has yet to clear the Kessel Run in under 12 parsecs and possibly before he owed something from just everyone he has done business with.
It studied the Crab pulsar, 2,000 parsecs (6,500 light-years) away in the constellation Taurus, as an early test of whether it could lock onto X-ray signals.
In the original Star Wars, Harrison Ford's Han Solo said, "You've never heard of the Millennium Falcon?.It's the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs." It is referenced again in The Force Awakens, when Rey boards the vessel and says, "This is the ship that made the Kessel Run in 14 parsecs?" To which Han Solo corrects, "Twelve!"
They are separated by approximately 0.35 parsecs, or roughly one light-year, which is the smallest gap between the two black holes of a binary system ever detected through direct imaging.
He told his 27,000 Instagram followers: "Just managed the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs. Loving my new motor.#rs3" The Kessel Run is a smugglers' route which featured in Star Wars.
"They would need to consider the age of the vehicle, the fact the main driver is a smuggler and he probably has more than one driving conviction - we heard that his vehicle made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs.