Convert Handbreadth (handbreadth) to Parsec (pc) instantly.
About these units
Handbreadth (handbreadth)
The handbreadth, roughly 0.1 meter, represents the width of a human hand with fingers extended. It served as a convenient, body-based subunit for cubits and larger measures. Handbreadths were integral to construction, tailoring, and craftwork, allowing precise division of larger units into manageable increments. In ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Hebrew measurement systems, the handbreadth facilitated scaling and proportioning for artisans and builders. Today, the handbreadth is mainly of historical interest, helping reconstruct ancient architectural plans and understand the human-centered logic of early measurement systems.
Parsec (pc)
A parsec is equal to 3.26 light years, or approximately 3.0857 × 10¹⁶ meters. It is defined based on the method of stellar parallax, the apparent shift in a star's position caused by Earth's orbit around the Sun. Specifically, a star at a distance of one parsec exhibits a parallax angle of one arcsecond (1/3600 of a degree). Because its definition emerges directly from geometric measurement techniques, the parsec became the standard astronomical unit for professional research. Parallax-based distances are foundational to the cosmic distance ladder — the sequence of methods by which astronomers measure distances from nearby stars to the farthest galaxies. The parsec is widely used in astrophysics because calculations involving gravitational dynamics, luminosity, or galactic structure often become more intuitive in parsecs than in light years. Although less familiar to the public, it is the preferred unit in scientific publications, planetary catalogs, and distance mapping of the Milky Way.