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An illustration of light sources from magnitude 1 to 3.5, in 0.5 increments. In astronomy, magnitude is a measure of the brightness of an object, usually in a defined passband. An imprecise but systematic determination of the magnitude of objects was introduced in ancient times by Hipparchus. Magnitude values do not have a unit.
Single magnitude values quoted for variable stars come from a variety of sources. Magnitudes shown in the table are either when the stars are at maximum brightness, which is repeated for every cycle (e.g. the eclipsing binary Algol); or, if the variations are small, a simple average magnitude.
While apparent magnitude is a measure of the brightness of an object as seen by a particular observer, absolute magnitude is a measure of the intrinsic brightness of an object. Flux decreases with distance according to an inverse-square law , so the apparent magnitude of a star depends on both its absolute brightness and its distance (and any ...
limiting magnitude with 12.5" reflector is 15.2; 5 Suburban sky 5.6–6.0 19.25–20.3 only hints of zodiacal light are seen on the best nights in autumn and spring; light pollution is visible in most, if not all, directions; clouds are noticeably brighter than the sky; the Milky Way is invisible near the horizon, and looks washed out overhead.
Normal maximum brightness is 2.29; magnitude 0.7 once observed 2.39 Epsilon Boötis: Binary star system 2.41 2.14 Mintaka: Triple star system 2.41 Kappa Scorpii: Binary star system Maximum brightness 2.42 2.31 Beta Pegasi: Star 2.42 Eta Ophiuchi: Binary star system 2.440 Phecda: Binary star system 2.45 2.38 Eta Canis Majoris: Star 2.46 Alpha ...
To help compare different orders of magnitude, the following list describes various source in lux, ... Frosted incandescent light bulb [5] [6] [12] 10 6: Mcd/m 2: 600 ...
An object's absolute magnitude is defined to be equal to the apparent magnitude that the object would have if it were viewed from a distance of exactly 10 parsecs (32.6 light-years), without extinction (or dimming) of its light due to absorption by interstellar matter and cosmic dust. By hypothetically placing all objects at a standard ...
Galaxy color–magnitude diagram – Chart depicting the relationship between brightness and mass of large star systems; Hayashi track – Luminosity–temperature relationship in stars; Henyey track – path taken by pre-main-sequence stars in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram