How many parsecs is 1 chain?

One chain equals approximately 6.519 x 10-16 parsecs. This is about 652 quadrillionths of a parsec, a number with no practical meaning.

How many chains are in 1 parsec?

One parsec contains approximately 1.534 x 1015 chains (about 1.5 quadrillion chains).

Is this conversion ever needed?

Never. Chains and parsecs belong to entirely different scientific domains separated by 16 orders of magnitude. This conversion exists only for mathematical completeness.

Chains to Parsecs (ch to pc) Converter

1 ch = 6.51941 × 10⁻¹⁶ pc

1 Chain equals 6.51941 × 10⁻¹⁶ Parsecs (1 ch = 6.51941 × 10⁻¹⁶ pc). Convert Chains to Parsecs with formula, table, and examples.

One chain equals approximately 6.519 x 10^-16 parsecs, a number so small it is meaningless outside of pure mathematics. The chain (66 feet / 20.12 m) measures farmland. The parsec (3.086 x 10¹⁶ m) measures distances between stars. These units are separated by about 16 orders of magnitude.

How to Convert Chains to Parsecs

pc = ch ÷ 1.53388 × 10¹⁵

Divide the value in Chains by 1.53388 × 10¹⁵

Take your value in Chains
Divide by 1.53388 × 10¹⁵
Read the result in Parsecs

Common Chains to Parsecs Conversions

Chains (ch)	Parsecs (pc)	Status
1 ch	6.5194 × 10⁻¹⁶ pc
100 ch	6.51941 × 10⁻¹⁴ pc
10,000 ch	6.51941 × 10⁻¹² pc
1,000,000 ch	6.51941 × 10⁻¹⁰ pc
100,000,000 ch	6.51941 × 10⁻⁸ pc
10,000,000,000 ch	0.000007 pc
1,000,000,000,000 ch	0.0007 pc
100,000,000,000,000 ch	0.0652 pc

Good to Know About Chains to Parsecs Conversion

The chain was invented to measure fields in 17th-century England. The parsec was invented to measure stars in 20th-century astronomy. Four centuries and 16 orders of magnitude separate these two innovations.

Chains to Parsecs: What You Need to Know

One parsec contains about 1.534 x 10¹⁵ chains (about 1.5 quadrillion). The nearest star at 1.3 parsecs is about 2 x 10¹⁵ chains away. No surveyor has ever needed parsecs, and no astronomer has ever needed chains. This conversion exists purely for mathematical completeness.

What is a Chain? ch

Exactly 66 feet or 4 rods (20.1168 m). Invented by Edmund Gunter for land surveying. 80 chains make one mile. Still used in US public land surveys.

Imperial land surveying US public land

Learn more about Chain →

What is a Parsec? pc

The distance at which one astronomical unit subtends an angle of one arcsecond. Approximately 3.26 light-years or 30.857 trillion kilometers. The standard unit in professional astronomy.

Astronomical professional astronomy galactic distances

Learn more about Parsec →

Going the other way? Use our Parsecs to Chains converter.

Chains to Parsecs FAQ

One chain equals approximately 6.519 x 10^-16 parsecs. This is about 652 quadrillionths of a parsec, a number with no practical meaning.
One parsec contains approximately 1.534 x 10¹⁵ chains (about 1.5 quadrillion chains).
Never. Chains and parsecs belong to entirely different scientific domains separated by 16 orders of magnitude. This conversion exists only for mathematical completeness.

Non-Frequently Asked Questions About Chains to Parsecs

Questions nobody should ask - but someone did.

Proxima Centauri at 1.3 parsecs is about 2 x 10¹⁵ chains away. If you surveyed at one chain per minute, it would take about 3.8 billion years. The star would have moved considerably in that time. Worst surveying project ever.
A parsec is about 1.534 x 10¹⁴ chains. If you could somehow extend Gunter's chain to parsec length, it would weigh about 7.7 x 10¹⁴ kg (assuming 5 kg per chain), roughly the mass of a small asteroid. The universe's most impractical measuring tool.
No astronomer has ever expressed stellar distances in chains. The closest overlap is that both surveyors and astronomers use triangulation - but at scales 14 orders of magnitude apart. Same math, incomparably different triangles.