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Why must astronmers figure out a star's distance to calculate it's actual brightness?
Wiki User
∙ 11y ago
For the same real brightness, at a larger distance it would look less bright. On the other hand, you may have two stars that look like they are the same brightness, but one might be million times brighter (in real brightness) than the other - which would be compensated by the fact that the brighter star is a thousand times farther away.
Wiki User
∙ 11y ago
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List three factors that control the apparent brightness of a star as seen from earth?
Three factors that affect a star's brightness are the star's distance from earth, its age and its luminosity. The farther the star is from earth, the less bright it appears. As a star increases in age, its brightness also increases. Its brightness also depends on its luminosity, which is the amount of energy the star emits per second.
What three things affect the apparent magnitude of a star?
1: The size of the planet.2: The planet's distance from the Sun.3: The "albedo" of the planet (the percentage of the Sun's light it reflects).If you mean how bright the planet appears to us on Earth, then the distance from Earth is obviously very important.
Why Vega brighter than Arcturus?
The apparent brightness of stars depends on:* The distance * The actual brightness * In some cases, the brightness may be dimmed by clouds of dust and gas, between us and the distant star. In the case of Vega and Arcturus, Vega is NOT brighter than Arcturus. Their apparent magnitude (brightness) is about the same, with Arcturus perhaps being slightly brighter, depending on the source consulted. In terms of real brightness ("absolute magnitude"), Arcturus is actually brighter. When consulting numbers, please remember that smaller numbers refer to brighter objects.
What variables are on the H-R diagram?
The Hertzsprung-Russell diagram is a scatter graph of known stars. It shows the absolute magnitudes (actual brightness at a set distance) versus the spectral type or classification (which is effectively what their temperature is). Stars, when plotted onto this graph, tend to fall into set patterns. The position of a star within a pattern (or sequence) can give further information, such as how old the star is.
Why one star appear brighter than others?
A star's apparent brightness depends on:* Its actual brightness - please note that there are huge differences here. * Its distance. If one star is 10 times as close as another one, it will appear to be 100 times as bright. * Any dust or gas that may absorb part of the star's light.
What two things must an astronomers find out in order to calculate a star's absolute brightness?
It's distance from Earth and the star's actual brightness
What is a stars brightness as if it were a standard distance?
Theres `Absolute Magnitude` which is the brightness of a star at a set distance. Then there is `Apparent Magnitude` which is the apparent brightness from earth, regardless of distance.
How bright a star appears to be in the night sky depends on its actual brightness and its?
Distance from Earth.
A star's brightness is the brightness seen by humans on Earth. A star's brightness is its actual brightness and does not depend on where the star is viewed from.?
The brightness as seen from Earth is called the "apparent magnitude".The real brightness (defined as the apparent brightness, as seen from a standard distance) is called the "absolute magnitude".
If you know the input distance and the output distance what can you calculate?
Actual Mech. Advantage
If two stars have the same apparent magnitude are they the same distance from Earth?
No. Brighter distant stars can have the same apparent magnitude as fainter stars that are closer.(Absolute magnitude does not refer to actual brightness, but rather to what the brightness of a star would likely be at an arbitrary distance of 10 parsecs, rather than its actual distance.)
Why is polaris considered to be a very bright star even though it is not a bright star in earths sky?
That refers to its actual brightness, not to how we see it. The apparent brightness depends on the real ("absolute") brightness, but also on the distance.
How does apparent magnitude of a star differ from absolute magnitude?
Apparent magnitude is the brightness as observed from earth, while absolute magnitude is the brightness of a star at a set distance. The apparent magnitude considers the stars actual brightness as well as it's distance from us, but absolute magnitude takes the distance factor out so that star brightnesses can be directly compared.
What two factor affect a stars apparent brightness?
Two factors that affect a star's apparent brightness are: 1.) The distance between the Earth and the star 2.) The absolute magnitude (the actual brightness) of the star Hope that helps :P
If you know the input distance and output distance of a machine which of the following can you calculate?
Type your answer here... The actual mechanical advantage.
Why does a star look smaller than another star but is bigger than the other star?
Normally you would observe the star's brightness, not its apparent diameter.The star's apparent brightness ("apparent magnitude") depends on its real brightness ("absolute magnitude"), and on the distance. Similarly, the star's apparent angular diameter (which is VERY hard to measure) would depend on its actual diameter, and on the distance.
What features on a map allows people to calculate the actual distance between two places?
The scale.
