The parsec is a unit of length and is used in the Astronomical system of units. It is denoted by the symbol pc.
It is equal to 3.26156 ly (light years) which is approximately 31 trillion kilometres (19 trillion miles). It's used to measure huge distances to objects and planets outside of our Solar System.
It was first brought into use by Herbert Hall Turner (a British Astronomer) in 1913 and was invented to use in calculations of astronomical distances to make it easier in calculations using raw data.
The metre (or meter; US spelling) is the SI base unit of length and uses the symbol m.
Originally defined in 1793 as one ten-millionth of the distance from the equator to the North Pole but was redefined in 1799 in terms of a prototyped metre bar (this bar was changed again in 1889).
In 1983 the current definition was adopted and it is now the most common unit in any property in the world and is used in thousands of formulae to describe countless characteristics.
Let's hear it for the metre!