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Apparent Magnitude is the star's brightness as it appears from earth. absolute magnitude is the apparent brightness of a star if viewed from a distance of 32.6 light years away.

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Q: Compare and contrast apparent magnitude and absolute magnitude?
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Compare apparent magnitude and absolute magnitude?

Apparent Magnitude is the star's brightness as it appears from earth, while, Absolute Magnitude is the apparent brightness of a star if viewed from a distance of 32.6 light years away.


How does the brightness of a quasar compare with that of a large galaxy?

I assume when you mean brightness, you mean apparent magnitude as opposed to absolute magnitude. The quasar 3C 273 has an apparent magnitude of about 12.8 whereas the brightest galaxy - the Large Magellanic Cloud has an apparent magnitude of 0.9. However, in absolute magnitudes, 3C 273 has an absolute magnitude of about -26.7 very similar to our own Sun.


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.


How can tell how bright a star really is?

Astronomers define star brightness in terms of apparent magnitude (how bright the star appears from Earth) and absolute magnitude (how bright the star appears at a standard distance of 32.6 light years, or 10 parsecs).


Is sun the brightest star?

The brightness of a star is usually referred to as its magnitude. Every star has two magnitudes. The apparent magnitude is how bright it appears to us here on earth. The absolute magnitude is the apparent magnitude that the star would have, if it were viewed from a standard distance. The apparent magnitude of our sun is vastly greater than that of any other celestial object. In terms of absolute magnitude, our sun can't begin to compare with some of the big bright stars in the universe.


Can you compare two complex numbers?

You can compare their magnitude (absolute values) but not the numbers themselves.


Which of these measurements allows scientists to compare the brightness of stars?

Absolute Magnitude


Which stars always have large positive absolute magnitude?

Does it mean that the star is a main sequesnce star? ( . Y . ) The above isn't true. A star can be a blue supergiant and be on the main sequence but still not be even visible to us, therefore the apparent and absolute magnitude wouldn't be the same. But to answer your question, I don't think it has a name, it just means that you are seeing the star's absolute and apparent magnitude at the same time, so if you placed the star at 32.6 light years away(the absolute magnitude scale)then the star would not appear to change in brightness


How do you measure absolute magnitude?

The absolute magnitude is the magnitude (brightness) an object would have at a standard distance - how bright would it look at a standard distance. For a star or galaxy, the standard distance of 10 parsecs is commonly used.


What are the three brightnesses of the stars?

I think you are referring to what astronomers call magnitude, which is defined in several different ways. Apparent magnitude is how bright a star looks compared to others. The dimmest stars we can see with the naked eye in good conditions are magnitude 6, and the brightest ones are about 1. Really bright objects like some of the planets have negative magnitude. Absolute magnitude is a way to compare how bright stars really are, because the apparent magnitude is affected by their distance from us. It's the magnitude the star would have if it were exactly ten parsecs away. Bolometric magnitude is more complex, but is an attempt to quantify the star's luminosity over all wavelengths, not just those we can see.


How does the sun compare to other stars in terms of surface temperature apparent absolute magnatuide and size?

Temperatures in the sun's middle atmosphere, the Chromosphere are 4,225°C to 6,000°C. In the sun's outer atmosphere, or Corona, temperatures may reach 2,000,000°C, while stars are related to colour: Stars that have the lowest surface temperatures (below 3,500 °C)are red. Stars that have the highest surface temperatures (above 25,000 °C) are blue. The Apparent Magnitude of the sun is less than the other stars. Some stars are actually more luminous, or brighter than the sun is. If these stars are located far from Earth, they may not appear bright to us. Using only their eyes, ancient astronomers described star brightness by magnitude. They called the brightest stars they could see 'first magnitude' and the faintest stars they could see 'sixth magnitude'. Astronomers using telescopes see many stars that are too dim to see through the naked eye. Rather than replacing the magnitude system, astronomers added to it. Today, the brightest stars have a magnitude of about -2. The faintest stars that we can see through a telescope have a magnitude of +30. Sirius the brightest star in the night sky has an apparent magnitude of -1.46. To the naked eye, the sun has apparent magnitude of -26.8, even though it is not as luminous a star as Sirius is. The sun is simply located closer to Earth. The apparent magnitude of the sun is -26.8. However the absolute magnitude of the sun is +4.8 which is typical of many stars. Now compare the sun, which is located 8.3 light minutes from Earth, to Sirius, which is located 8.6 light years from Earth. Sirius has an apparent magnitude of -1.46 and an absolute magnitude of +1.4. Therefore, Sirius is much more luminous than the sun is.


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