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The brightness of a star - or apparent magnitude [See related question] is how bright a star is as viewed from Earth.

Therefore, if we have two stars of similar luminosity but one is twice as far away, then the further star would appear dimmer than the closer star.

There are more luminous stars than our Sun but because the Sun is a lot closer, it is brighter.

So the brightness of a star depends on it's luminosity and it's distance from the observer.

A stars luminosity is a factor of how hot it is, and how big it is.

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What part of a star is called magnitude?

Magnitude refers to the brightness of a star. There are two main types: apparent magnitude, which is how bright a star appears from Earth, and absolute magnitude, which measures a star's intrinsic brightness.


What are two factors that determine the brightness of a star?

distance from the sun and the age of the star


What two groups of stars can have similar brightness?

First let's assume the question is about a star's actual brightness not apparent brightness as seen from Earth. There are in fact several possibilities. The Hertzprung-Russell diagram is helpful here. One possibility is red dwarfs and white dwarfs. Of course there's large variation within these groups, but a red dwarf can certainly have a luminosity that's similar to a white dwarf. If the question is about apparent brightness, then a distant luminous star can appear similar in brightness to a nearby faint star.


Are the star in big dipper in the same brightness?

No. The stars are not only not the same brightness, they are not the same distance from us - they just "appear" to be as part of the optical illusion of earthbound astronomy. They are all of varying brightness, though fairly close in brightness overall.


What two factors determine how bright a star looks like from earth?

The two factors that determine how bright a star appears from Earth are its intrinsic brightness (or luminosity) and its distance from Earth. Intrinsic brightness refers to the amount of light a star emits, while distance affects how much of that light reaches us. Closer, more luminous stars appear brighter in the sky.

Related Questions

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


What part of a star is called magnitude?

Magnitude refers to the brightness of a star. There are two main types: apparent magnitude, which is how bright a star appears from Earth, and absolute magnitude, which measures a star's intrinsic brightness.


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 are two factors that determine the brightness of a star?

distance from the sun and the age of the star


What two factors does absolute brightness depend on?

the watts in the lamp and the volts behind the light


The measure of a stars brightness is called its what?

Scientists actually use two measurements to identify a star's brightness. One is luminosity, or the energy that star puts out. Another is magnitude, or the amount of light a star puts out.


Is it true that two stars that have the same brightness are the same distance from earth?

Not necessarily. Two stars can have the same brightness but be at different distances from Earth. The distance of a star affects how bright it appears to us, so a closer dim star may appear as bright as a farther bright star.


How are the brightness and temperature related?

brightness and temperature are both related because brightness is actually tempature. However the system has become more refined. Instead of just looking at the star and determining magnitude one or magnitude two, an astronomer measures the brightness of the star using a device called a photometer. The photometer counts the number of photons coming from the star. This photon count is then compared to the photon count from a star whose magnitude is known. An accurate magnitude can then be calculated.


Looking at the H-R diagram what 2 factors determine the brightness of a star?

The H-R diagram graphs total brightness versus surface temperature (related to color); by itself, it doesn't tell you where those two things come from.The brightness of a star depends on its mass, and on where it is in its development history.


What two groups of stars can have similar brightness?

First let's assume the question is about a star's actual brightness not apparent brightness as seen from Earth. There are in fact several possibilities. The Hertzprung-Russell diagram is helpful here. One possibility is red dwarfs and white dwarfs. Of course there's large variation within these groups, but a red dwarf can certainly have a luminosity that's similar to a white dwarf. If the question is about apparent brightness, then a distant luminous star can appear similar in brightness to a nearby faint star.


Why must astronmers figure out a star's distance to calculate it's actual brightness?

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.


What do you call two revolving stars of unequal brightness?

Two stars revolving around one another (around their center of mass, to be precise) are called a "binary star". There is no special name for the case that the brightness is unequal; this is actually the usual case.