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Apparent magnitude is the brightness of an object as seen from Earth without any atmosphere.

Absolute magnitude is the brightness of an object as seen from a predetermined distance, depending on the object.

For planets, the distance used is 1 AU (Astronomical Units). Stars and galaxies use 10 parsecs which is about 32.616 light years.

The dimmer an object is the higher the positive value. The brighter an object is the higher the negative value.

Examples:

The Sun has an apparent magnitude of -26.74 but an absolute magnitude of 4.83

Sirius has an apparent magnitude of -1.46 but an absolute magnitude of -1.42

This means that from Earth, the Sun is a lot brighter, but if the Sun was replaced by Sirius, Sirius would be 25 times more luminous.

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Meda Jacobson

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A star might be much brighter than it appears to be This is called the star's absolute magnitude The difference in apparent magnitude and absolute magnitude is due primarily to the star's?

distance from the Earth. The apparent magnitude of a star is how bright it appears from Earth, while the absolute magnitude is how bright a star would be if it were located at a standard distance of 10 parsecs away from Earth. The difference in magnitude is primarily influenced by the star's distance, with closer stars having a smaller difference and more distant stars having a larger difference between their apparent and absolute magnitude.


What is a stars brightness as if it were a standard distance?

A star's brightness at a standard distance is referred to as its apparent magnitude. This standard distance is 10 parsecs (32.6 light-years) from Earth. Apparent magnitude allows astronomers to compare the brightness of stars as seen from Earth, regardless of their actual distance from us.


What is the magnitude of Rigel?

Rigel has an apparent magnitude of around 0.12, making it one of the brightest stars in the sky. Its absolute magnitude, which measures intrinsic brightness, is around -7.0, indicating its high luminosity.


What are two ways to describe a stars brightness?

One way to describe a star's brightness is by its apparent magnitude, which is how bright it appears from Earth. Another way is by its absolute magnitude, which measures how bright a star would appear if it were placed at a standard distance of 10 parsecs from Earth.


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.)

Related Questions

Why is the absolute magnitude of some stars greatar than their apparent magnitude?

The question is: Why is the apparent magnitude of some stars less than their absolute magnitude. Or: Why do some stars not look as bright as they really are ? The answer is: Because they're so far away from us.


What is the actual amount of light a star gives off?

It is actually absolute magnitude, opposed to apparent magnitude which is how much light stars appear to give off.


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.


Why is the absolute magnitude of some stars greater their apparent magnitude?

The apparent magnitude is how bright the star appears to us, but stars are all at different distances so that a star that is really bright might look dim because it is very far away. So the absolute magnitude measures how bright the star would look if it was placed at a standard distance of 10 parsecs. When the absolute magnitude is greater than the apparent magnitude, it just means that it is closer than 10 pc. The brightest stars have absolute magnitudes around -7.


How 2 stars could have the same apparent magnitude but different absolute magnitudes?

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Why is absolute magnitude of some stars greater than their apparent magnitude for stars?

The apparent magnitude is what we see, and this can be measured directly. The absolute magnitude must be calculated, mainly on the basis of (1) the apparent magnitude, and (2) the star's distance. So, to calculate the absolute magnitude, you must first know the star's distance.


Explain why size is the only factor that determines the stars absolute magnitude?

The absolute magnitude is a measure of the star's luminosity hence the smaller the size the less the absolute magnitude.


A star might be much brighter than it appears to be This is called the star's absolute magnitude The difference in apparent magnitude and absolute magnitude is due primarily to the star's?

distance from the Earth. The apparent magnitude of a star is how bright it appears from Earth, while the absolute magnitude is how bright a star would be if it were located at a standard distance of 10 parsecs away from Earth. The difference in magnitude is primarily influenced by the star's distance, with closer stars having a smaller difference and more distant stars having a larger difference between their apparent and absolute magnitude.


What is a stars brightness as if it were a standard distance?

A star's brightness at a standard distance is referred to as its apparent magnitude. This standard distance is 10 parsecs (32.6 light-years) from Earth. Apparent magnitude allows astronomers to compare the brightness of stars as seen from Earth, regardless of their actual distance from us.


What is the magnitude of Rigel?

Rigel has an apparent magnitude of around 0.12, making it one of the brightest stars in the sky. Its absolute magnitude, which measures intrinsic brightness, is around -7.0, indicating its high luminosity.


Which one tells us how bright the stars would appear if all stars were at the same distance ferom the earth?

There are two terms used to describe a stars brightness, absolute magnitude and apparent magnitude. The one you want is absolute magnitude - this is where the stars distance from us is taken out of the equation, effectively comparing the stars brightness side by side from a set distance (10 parsecs or 32.6 light years). Apparent magnitude is the other measure, this is how bright a star apparently looks from Earth. The huge distances and range of distances involved means that you can have very bright stars (high absolute magnitude) that apparently look as bright as a much closer but dimmer (low absolute magnitude) star - their apparent magnitudes might be similar, but they may have vastly different absolute magnitudes.


What is different shape between apparent and absolute magnitude of stars?

This has nothing to do with shape. The apparent magnitude means how bright a star looks to us. The absolute magnitude means how bright the star really is (expressed as: how bright would it look at a standard distance).