A kiloparsec (kpc) is a measurement of distance equal to 1,000 parsecs or 3,260 light years.

Our Milky Way is about 30 kpc across and its centre lies about 8 kpc from the Solar System. The nearest galaxy to the Milky Way, the Canis Major dwarf, is located about 13 kpc from the centre of the Milky Way, and one of our most famous companions, the Large Magellanic Cloud, is found 50.1 kpc away.