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Absolutely. When speaking of the brightness you see from earth, you are speaking of apparent magnitude. When considering the type of star, it's composition, stage, age, size, distance, etc., a star is also assigned an absolute magnitude, so the ranking of the star if seen from similar distances reveals the truth about a star. 3.26 light years away is the assumed distance in ranking stars. A star many times farther away than a second star may appear much brighter than the second star which is much closer, based partially on the various factors mentioned above. The lower the value for a magnitude, the brighter, or more correctly, the more luminous, a star. Thus, a 3.4 is brighter than a 5.1, for example. Long ago the scale was originally an arbitrary ranking based on certain stars that were considered to be the brightest. Since then, stars even brighter have been identified, thus the need to use values even less than zero. Only a handful of stars fall below zero in apparent magnitude. So then it is not significant where in the sky (in what constellation) a star lies, the magnitude value determines the brightness.

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Star A is a first magnitude star. Star B is a sixth magnitude star. Which star is brighter and by how much?

A magnitude 1 star is 100 times brighter than a magnitude 6 star.A magnitude 1 star is 100 times brighter than a magnitude 6 star.A magnitude 1 star is 100 times brighter than a magnitude 6 star.A magnitude 1 star is 100 times brighter than a magnitude 6 star.


How many times brighter is a first magnitude star than a third magnitude?

2 magnitudes brighter means it's about 2.512 x 2.512 times brighter. So that's about 6.31 times brighter.


How many times brighter is a magnitude 1 star than a magnitude 2 star?

Good, a nice question with a definite answer. The magnitude1 star is 2.512 times brighter (near enough).


How much brighter is a magnitude 2 star than a magnitude 4 star?

A magnitude 2 star is 2.5 times brighter than a magnitude 4 star because each difference in magnitude corresponds to a difference in brightness of approximately 2.5 times.


What is the distance between an eighth magnitude star and a 9th magnitude star?

The 8th magnitude star is about 2.5 times brighter.


If star A is third magnitude and star B is fifth magnitude which is brighter and by what factor?

A 3rd magnitude star is brighter than a 5th magnitude star by a factor of 6.25.Each integer difference of magnitude represents a change in apparent brightness of 2.5 times. Hence, a 3rd magnitude star is 2.5 x 2.5 = 6.25 times brighter than a 5th magnitude star.(check related links)


What is the difference between a twelfth magnitude and fifteenth magnitude star?

The main difference is brightness: a twelfth magnitude star is brighter than a fifteenth magnitude star. Magnitude is a logarithmic scale, so each step in magnitude represents a difference in brightness of about 2.5 times. This means a twelfth magnitude star is approximately 12.5 times brighter than a fifteenth magnitude star.


How would you calculate how much brighter a magnitude plus 4 star is than a magnitude plus 7 star?

The model for measuring the apparent magnitude (brightness from earth) of a star says that a magnitude 1 star will be 100 times brighter than a magnitude 6 star (just visible with the naked eye). This means that a magnitude 1 star is 2.512 times brighter than a magnitude 2 star, which is 2.512 times brighter than a magnitude 3 star. To jump two places up the scale, use 2.512 x 2.512 as a multiplier, i.e. mag 1 is 6.31 times brighter than magnitude 3 star. To jump three places use 2.512 x 2.512 x 2.512 (or 2.512 cubed) = 15.851. So a magnitude 4 star will be 15.85 times brighter than a magnitude 7 star. Working the other way, a magnitude 7 star will appear 6.3% as bright as a magnitude 4 star (1/15.85 and x 100 to get percentage).


A first magnitude star is times brighter than a 5th magnitude star?

For apparent magnitudes, a magnitude of zero has the same magnitude as Vega. A first magnitude star is 40 percent as bright and a fifth magnitude star is one percent. So, a first magnitude star is 40 times as bright as a fifth.


How much brighter is a star with an apparent visual magnitude of 13.4 than a star with an apparent visual magnitude of 15.4?

A star with a visual magnitude of 13.4 is 10 times brighter than a star with a magnitude of 15.4, because each step in magnitude represents a factor of about 2.5 in brightness.


What is brighter a second or a third magnitude star?

2nd magnitude is brighter than 3rd. 6th magnitude is the dimmest that can be seen with the naked eye; many more can be seen in binoculars, telescopes etc.


What is a second magnitude star?

A second magnitude star is a star that is relatively bright in the night sky, typically with an apparent visual magnitude between 1.5 and 2.5. These stars are easily visible to the naked eye and are brighter than third magnitude stars but dimmer than first magnitude stars.