parsec

noun

par·​sec ˈpär-ˌsek 

: a unit of measure for interstellar space that is equal to 3.26 light-years and is the distance to an object having a parallax of one second as seen from points separated by one astronomical unit

Examples of parsec in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Within a sphere of about 200 parsecs, there are roughly 500,000 Sun-like stars. — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 3 May 2026

These gravitational waves most likely come from tightly orbiting supermassive black holes within a parsec of each other that are close to merging. — Jonathan O’Callaghan, WIRED, 1 Dec. 2024

The clustered filaments are especially compelling as they are regularly spaced from each other, with roughly one parsec between them. — Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 13 May 2022

This is a huge region; for comparison, ten kiloparsec is about the radius of a typical spiral galaxy like our own Milky Way, and a parsec itself is already pretty big, at more than three light-years. — Stephon Alexander, Wired, 31 Aug. 2021

Recently astronomers settled on a value of 25 parsecs (82 light-years) above the plane, but our results strongly disagree with this estimate. — Mark J. Reid, Scientific American, 17 Mar. 2020

Word History

Etymology

parallax + second

First Known Use

1913, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for parsec

• aztec
• breakneck
• codec
• exec
• mixtec
• paycheck
• pinchbeck
• recheck
• redneck
• toltec
• beck
• breck