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A difference of 1.0 in magnitude corresponds to the brightness ratio of , or about 2.512. 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.
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 ...
The apparent magnitude is the observed visible brightness from Earth which depends on the distance of the object. The absolute magnitude is the apparent magnitude at a distance of 10 pc (3.1 × 10 17 m), therefore the bolometric absolute magnitude is a logarithmic measure of the bolometric luminosity.
Factor ()Multiple Value Item 0 0 lux 0 lux Absolute darkness 10 −4: 100 microlux 100 microlux: Starlight overcast moonless night sky [1]: 140 microlux: Venus at brightest [1]: 200 microlux
(The S 10 unit is defined as the surface brightness of a star whose V-magnitude is 10 and whose light is smeared over one square degree, or 27.78 mag arcsec −2.) The total sky brightness in zenith is therefore ~220 S 10 or 21.9 mag/arcsec² in the V-band. Note that the contributions from Airglow and Zodiacal light vary with the time of year ...
The brightness usually refers the object's absolute magnitude, which, in turn, is its apparent magnitude at a distance of one astronomical unit from the Earth and Sun. The phase curve is useful for characterizing an object's regolith (soil) and atmosphere. It is also the basis for computing the geometrical albedo and the Bond albedo of the body.
One may distinguish between the cases of small and large stellar masses by deriving the above results using radiation pressure. In this case, it is easier to use the optical opacity κ {\displaystyle \kappa } and to consider the internal temperature T I directly; more precisely, one can consider the average temperature in the radiation zone .
One nominal solar luminosity is defined by the International Astronomical Union to be 3.828 × 10 26 W. [2] The Sun is a weakly variable star, and its actual luminosity therefore fluctuates. [3] The major fluctuation is the eleven-year solar cycle (sunspot cycle) that causes a quasi-periodic variation of about ±0.1%. Other variations over the ...