The Night Sky, Explainedby Dmitry Shteynbuk
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How stars workDefinedTerm

Parsec

3.26 light-years, or the distance at which 1 AU subtends 1 arcsecond.

The natural unit of distance in astronomy. One kiloparsec is 3,260 light-years.

Used in these guides

  • The Milky Way: Reading Our Own Galaxy from Inside ItBeyond the Sun
  • How Far Is Far: The Cosmic Distance LadderBeyond the Sun
  • Hubble, Leavitt, and the Night the Universe Got BiggerHow we learned where we are
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The Night Sky, Explained — by Dmitry Shteynbuk, Miami, Florida

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