One hand is exactly 3.292631758e-18 parsecs, so converting hands to parsecs is a single multiplication. Enter any figure and the result appears as you type — the arithmetic runs in your browser, so nothing is sent anywhere.
Exactly four inches, and still the only accepted way to state the height of a horse. The distance at which one astronomical unit subtends one arcsecond: about 3.26 light-years.
The mil and the millimetre are not the same thing and are out by a factor of about forty. A mil is one thousandth of an inch — 0.0254 mm — and a spec sheet that quotes film thickness in mils means the small unit. British drawings write the same size as "thou". The tables underneath give both a plain step-by-step lookup and a list of real quantities expressed in parsecs, so you can sanity-check whether your answer is a plausible size.
The formula
hands- The amount you are converting, in hands
3.29263175808e-18- The exact number of parsecs in one hand
parsecs- The converted result
How it works, step by step
- Enter the value in hands.
- It is multiplied by 3.29263175808e-18, the exact factor between the two units.
- The answer is shown in parsecs, with the reverse conversion beneath it.
- Check the reference table if you want a figure of comparable size.
Worked examples
A door height: 20 hh in parsecs
Take a door height, roughly 20 hh. The conversion is a single multiplication — 20 × 3.29263e-18 — giving 6.58526e-17 pc. Because the relationship is proportional, doubling the input doubles the answer to 1.31705e-16 pc.
A marathon: 4.15e+05 hh in parsecs
A marathon comes to about 4.15e+05 hh. Multiplying by the factor: 4.15e+05 × 3.29263e-18 = 1.36644e-12 pc. Dividing the answer back by 3.29263e-18 returns the figure you started with, which is the quickest way to check you have the factor the right way up.
How to read your score
Frequently asked questions
How many parsecs are in one hand?
Exactly 3.29263175808e-18. Every figure on this page is that one number multiplied by your input, so the only rounding is at the display step.
What is the formula to convert hands to parsecs?
parsecs = hands × 3.29263175808e-18. Reversed, hands = parsecs ÷ 3.29263175808e-18, which is the same as multiplying by 3.03708423375e+17.
Which is the bigger unit, the hand or the parsec?
The parsec. One hand is only 3.29263e-18 of a parsec, so it takes 3.03708e+17 hands to make one parsec.
What does this quantity actually measure?
Both units measure length. That is why a single factor is enough: there is no temperature offset and no material property involved, unlike conversions that cross between different quantities.
What is a hand?
Exactly four inches, and still the only accepted way to state the height of a horse.
What is a parsec?
The distance at which one astronomical unit subtends one arcsecond: about 3.26 light-years.
Why does my answer differ from another converter?
Almost always because the other tool rounded the factor before multiplying. This page keeps full double precision through the calculation and rounds only for display, and it prints the factor it used so you can see where any difference came from.
Hands to parsecs reference tables
| Hands | Parsecs |
|---|---|
| 0.5 hh | 1.64632e-18 pc |
| 1 hh | 3.29263e-18 pc |
| 2 hh | 6.58526e-18 pc |
| 3 hh | 9.87790e-18 pc |
| 5 hh | 1.64632e-17 pc |
| 10 hh | 3.29263e-17 pc |
| 20 hh | 6.58526e-17 pc |
| 25 hh | 8.23158e-17 pc |
| 50 hh | 1.64632e-16 pc |
| 75 hh | 2.46947e-16 pc |
| 100 hh | 3.29263e-16 pc |
| 250 hh | 8.23158e-16 pc |
| 500 hh | 1.64632e-15 pc |
| 1000 hh | 3.29263e-15 pc |
| 5000 hh | 1.64632e-14 pc |
Exact factor: 1 hand = 3.29263175808e-18 parsecs.
| Quantity | hh | pc |
|---|---|---|
| A credit card’s long edge | 0.8425 hh | 2.774e-18 pc |
| A door height | 20 hh | 6.585e-17 pc |
| An Olympic pool | 492.1 hh | 1.620e-15 pc |
| The Eiffel Tower | 3248 hh | 1.069e-14 pc |
| A marathon | 4.153e+05 hh | 1.367e-12 pc |
| Earth’s diameter | 1.254e+08 hh | 4.129e-10 pc |
Published reference values, converted with the same factor this page uses.