Parsecs, like light years, make the large distances encountered in astronomy much more manageable. For example, the distance to our nearest [[star]], [[Alpha Centauri]], is around 0.769 pc away and the [[Milky Way]] is around 30 kpc across. | Parsecs, like light years, make the large distances encountered in astronomy much more manageable. For example, the distance to our nearest [[star]], [[Alpha Centauri]], is around 0.769 pc away and the [[Milky Way]] is around 30 kpc across. |