How many chains are in 1 parsec?

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

How many parsecs is 1 chain?

One chain equals approximately 6.52 x 10-16 parsecs.

Is this conversion used?

Never. Land surveying and stellar astronomy are separated by 15 orders of magnitude and 300 years of measurement history.

Parsecs to Chains (pc to ch) Converter

1 pc = 1.53388 × 10¹⁵ ch

1 Parsec equals 1.53388 × 10¹⁵ Chains (1 pc = 1.53388 × 10¹⁵ ch). Convert Parsecs to Chains with formula, table, and examples.

One parsec equals approximately 1.534 x 10¹⁵ chains (about 1.5 quadrillion). The parsec measures interstellar space; the chain measures English farmland. These units have never met in any practical context.

How to Convert Parsecs to Chains

ch = pc × 1.53388 × 10¹⁵

Multiply the value in Parsecs by 1.53388 × 10¹⁵

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

Common Parsecs to Chains Conversions

Parsecs (pc)	Chains (ch)	Status
1 × 10⁻¹² pc	1,533.8809 ch
1 × 10⁻¹¹ pc	15,338.8093 ch
1 × 10⁻¹⁰ pc	153,388.0926 ch
1 × 10⁻⁹ pc	1,533,880.9261 ch
1 × 10⁻⁸ pc	15,338,809.2614 ch
1 × 10⁻⁷ pc	153,388,092.6137 ch
0.000001 pc	1,533,880,926.137 ch
0.00001 pc	15,338,809,261.3704 ch
0.0001 pc	153,388,092,613.7043 ch
0.001 pc	1,533,880,000,000 ch
0.01 pc	15,338,800,000,000 ch
0.1 pc	153,388,000,000,000 ch
1 pc	1.53388 × 10¹⁵ ch
1.3 pc	1.99405 × 10¹⁵ ch

Good to Know About Parsecs to Chains Conversion

The chain was humanity's tool for dividing Earth's surface into owned parcels. The parsec is humanity's tool for mapping the universe's structure. One measures property; the other measures possibility. From farmland to starfield: both are human attempts to impose order on space.

Parsecs to Chains: What You Need to Know

A parsec is about 1.5 quadrillion chains. A chain (20.1 m) is 6.52 x 10^-16 parsecs. Proxima Centauri at 1.3 parsecs is about 2 quadrillion chains away. No surveyor has ever needed to know this.

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 →

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 →

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

Parsecs to Chains FAQ

One parsec contains approximately 1.534 x 10¹⁵ chains (about 1.5 quadrillion).
One chain equals approximately 6.52 x 10^-16 parsecs.
Never. Land surveying and stellar astronomy are separated by 15 orders of magnitude and 300 years of measurement history.

Non-Frequently Asked Questions About Parsecs to Chains

Questions nobody should ask - but someone did.

The Milky Way (30,660 pc = 9.46 x 10²⁰ m). A 50 m pool fits about 1.89 x 10¹⁹ times. All pools ever built (maybe 10 million) would span 500 million m = 1.62 x 10^-8 parsecs. All human swimming pools reach about 16 billionths of a parsec. The galaxy does not notice our pools.
The Milky Way (30,660 pc) is about 4.7 x 10¹⁹ chains. At 1 chain per minute: 4.7 x 10¹⁹ minutes = 89.4 trillion years. The universe is 13.8 billion years old. Gunter would need 6,478 universe-lifetimes. His chain would rust.
1 parsec = 1.534 x 10¹⁵ chains. Earth has about 7.5 x 10¹⁸ grains of sand. So there are about 5,000 times more sand grains than chains-in-a-parsec. Sand wins. But the parsec in chains is still a mind-breakingly large number.