The term ‘parsec’ is used exclusively when interstellar distances are measured. It was first used in 1913, short for the words ‘parallax second’. One parsec is equal to about 3.26 light years in length. The British astronomer Herbert Hall Turner is usually credited with the coining of the name ‘parsec’. In popular media, Han Solo refers to the Millennium Falcon as “It’s the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs.”
