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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.
Stars in binary systems (or other multiples) are listed by their total or combined brightness if they appear as a single star to the naked eye, or listed separately if they do not. As with all magnitude systems in astronomy , the scale is logarithmic and inverted i.e. lower/more negative numbers are brighter.
Note that the brighter the star, the smaller the magnitude: Bright "first magnitude" stars are "1st-class" stars, while stars barely visible to the naked eye are "sixth magnitude" or "6th-class". The system was a simple delineation of stellar brightness into six distinct groups but made no allowance for the variations in brightness within a group.
For example, a star of absolute magnitude M V = 3.0 would be 100 times as luminous as a star of absolute magnitude M V = 8.0 as measured in the V filter band. The Sun has absolute magnitude M V = +4.83. [1] Highly luminous objects can have negative absolute magnitudes: for example, the Milky Way galaxy has an absolute B magnitude of about −20 ...
The brightness has been monitored by the American Association of Variable Star Observers since 1945, [34] and it has been classified as an LC slow irregular variable star, whose apparent magnitude slowly varies between extremes of +0.6 and +1.6, although usually near magnitude +1.0.
Main-sequence stars vary in surface temperature from approximately 2,000 to 50,000 K, whereas more-evolved stars – in particular, newly-formed white dwarfs – can have surface temperatures above 100,000 K. [3] Physically, the classes indicate the temperature of the star's atmosphere and are normally listed from hottest to coldest.
The first list shows a few of the known stars with an estimated luminosity of 1 million L ☉ or greater, including the stars in open cluster, OB association and H II region. The majority of stars thought to be more than 1 million L ☉ are shown, but the list is incomplete. The second list gives some notable stars for the purpose of comparison.
The brightness of a star, as seen from Earth, is measured with a standardized, logarithmic scale. This apparent magnitude is a numerical value that decreases in value with increasing brightness of the star. The faintest stars visible to the unaided eye are sixth magnitude, while the brightest in the night sky, Sirius, is of magnitude −1.46 ...