Convert Parsec (pc) to Attometer (am) instantly.
About these units
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.
Attometer (am)
An attometer is 10⁻¹⁸ meters, a scale so small that it lies far below the size of atoms. At this scale, conventional physics loses intuitive meaning, and the unit appears primarily in theoretical models dealing with subatomic phenomena, quantum interactions, and particle scattering. While extremely rare in practical measurement, the attometer helps frame discussions of hypothetical distances involved in exotic particles or proposed physics beyond the Standard Model. Because fundamental particles like quarks may have effective sizes or interaction radii that flirt with attometer magnitudes, the unit serves as a conceptual tool for physicists exploring the limits of the measurable universe. It also provides a means to express extraordinarily small wavelengths in high-energy physics contexts.