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For example, a magnitude 2.0 star is 2.512 times as bright as a magnitude 3.0 star, 6.31 times as magnitude 4.0, and 100 times magnitude 7.0. The brightest astronomical objects have negative apparent magnitudes: for example, Venus at −4.2 or Sirius at −1.46.
Therefore, the absolute magnitude can be calculated from a luminosity in watts: = + where L 0 is the zero point luminosity 3.0128 × 10 28 W and the luminosity in watts can be calculated from an absolute magnitude (although absolute magnitudes are often not measured relative to an absolute flux): L ∗ = L 0 × 10 − 0.4 M b o l ...
A Hertzsprung–Russell diagram plots the luminosity (or absolute magnitude) of a star against its color index (represented as B−V). The main sequence is visible as a prominent diagonal band from upper left to lower right.
The apparent magnitude of stars in the same cluster is equivalent to their absolute magnitude and so this early diagram was effectively a plot of luminosity against temperature. The same type of diagram is still used today as a means of showing the stars in clusters without having to initially know their distance and luminosity. [ 4 ]
Magnitude values do not have a unit. The scale is logarithmic and defined such that a magnitude 1 star is exactly 100 times brighter than a magnitude 6 star. Thus each step of one magnitude is times brighter than the magnitude 1 higher. The brighter an object appears, the lower the value of its magnitude, with the brightest objects reaching ...
If the star lies on the main sequence, as determined by its luminosity class, the spectral type of the star provides a good estimate of the star's absolute magnitude. Knowing the apparent magnitude (m) and absolute magnitude (M) of the star, one can calculate the distance (d, in parsecs) of the star using m − M = 5 log ( d / 10 ...
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L ★ is the star's luminosity (bolometric luminosity) in watts; L 0 is the zero point luminosity 3.0128 × 10 28 W; M bol is the bolometric magnitude of the star; The new IAU absolute magnitude scale permanently disconnects the scale from the variable Sun.