Convert length and distance units — meters, feet, inches, kilometers, miles, light years and more.
| Unit | Name | Value |
|---|---|---|
| 0.001 pc | 1.53404e+12 chain | |
| 0.01 pc | 1.53404e+13 chain | |
| 0.1 pc | 1.53404e+14 chain | |
| 1 pc | 1.534e+15 chain | |
| 5 pc | 7.670e+15 chain | |
| 10 pc | 1.534e+16 chain | |
| 50 pc | 7.670e+16 chain | |
| 100 pc | 1.534e+17 chain | |
| 1000 pc | 1.534e+18 chain |
Multiply the number of Parsecs by 1.534×1015 to get Chains. Formula: chain = pc × 1.534×1015. Example: 10 pc × 1.534×1015 = 1.534×1016 chain. To reverse, divide Chains by 1.534×1015 to get Parsecs.
| Parsec (pc) | Chain (chain) |
|---|---|
| 0.001 pc | 1.534×1012 chain |
| 0.01 pc | 1.534×1013 chain |
| 0.1 pc | 1.534×1014 chain |
| 0.5 pc | 7.6702×1014 chain |
| 1 pc | 1.534×1015 chain |
| 2 pc | 3.0681×1015 chain |
| 5 pc | 7.6702×1015 chain |
| 10 pc | 1.534×1016 chain |
| 20 pc | 3.0681×1016 chain |
| 50 pc | 7.6702×1016 chain |
| 100 pc | 1.534×1017 chain |
| 250 pc | 3.8351×1017 chain |
| 500 pc | 7.6702×1017 chain |
| 1000 pc | 1.534×1018 chain |
| 10000 pc | 1.534×1019 chain |
To convert Parsec to Chain, multiply by 1.534×1015. Example: 10 pc = 1.534×1016 chain
To convert Chain back to Parsec, divide by 1.534×1015 (multiply by 6.5187×10-16). Use the swap button above.
Start with 100 Parsecs = 1.534×1017 chain as your reference point. Scale up or down from there.
1 pc = 1.534×10¹⁵ chains — 1.5 quadrillion chains. Physics educators use parsec-to-chain as a striking illustration of measurement scale: from Edmund Gunter's 1620 land surveying tool to a 1913 astronomical distance unit — 293 years of measurement evolution.
Astronomy outreach at rural shows uses parsec-to-chain comparisons to make stellar distances tangible for farming audiences: "Proxima Centauri is 1.3 parsecs away — that's 2 quadrillion chains, enough to fence off every farm on Earth 10 million times over."
The chain (1620) and the parsec (1913) span 293 years of human measurement — from dividing English farm fields to measuring stellar distances. Historians of science use this pair to trace the full arc of human exploration through measurement.
University physics courses use parsec-to-chain in dimensional analysis problem sets — testing students' ability to convert between an astronomical unit and an archaic imperial unit, requiring 6 intermediate conversion steps.
Complete unit converters include parsec-to-chain for historical completeness — ensuring researchers can convert between any standardised unit pair encountered in land surveying history and stellar astrophysics literature.
Science museums use parsec-to-chain in scale exhibits to show visitors the full range of human measurement — from the tools of a 17th-century English surveyor to the distances measured by modern space telescopes.
The Parsec is a unit of Length measurement (symbol: pc). 1 pc = 1.534×1015 chain. Used in scientific and practical Length measurement applications.
The Chain is a unit of Length measurement (symbol: chain). It is part of an internationally recognised measurement system used alongside the Parsec.
The parsec was introduced in 1913 by British astronomer Herbert Hall Turner, who needed a practical unit for expressing stellar distances measured by parallax. The name is a portmanteau of 'parallax' and 'arcsecond' — a parsec is the distance at which one astronomical unit (the Earth-Sun distance) subtends an angle of exactly one arcsecond. This geometric definition makes parsecs directly useful: a star with a measured parallax of 1 arcsecond is exactly 1 parsec away, requiring no intermediate conversion. 1 parsec equals approximately 3.086×10¹³ kilometres or 3.262 light-years. Professional astronomers overwhelmingly prefer parsecs over light-years because parallax astrometry — the primary distance measurement tool — yields distances in parsecs directly.
Edmund Gunter invented the surveyor's chain in 1620. His design — 100 links totalling exactly 66 feet — was brilliantly chosen: 10 chains × 10 chains = 1 acre. 80 chains = 1 mile, 10 chains = 1 furlong. The chain became the standard survey unit across the British Empire and is written into American law.
Common use: Parsec to Chain conversion is needed when working with international standards, scientific publications, or reference materials that use different unit systems for Length measurement.