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Astronomers use the term "flux" for what is often called "intensity" in physics, in order to avoid confusion with the specific intensity. Using this formula, the magnitude scale can be extended beyond the ancient magnitude 1–6 range, and it becomes a precise measure of brightness rather than simply a classification system.
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 ...
The luminous flux is a weighted sum of the power at all wavelengths in the visible band. Light outside the visible band does not contribute. The ratio of the total luminous flux to the radiant flux is called the luminous efficacy. This model of the human visual brightness perception, is standardized by the CIE and ISO. [5]
Luminous flux per unit solid angle: Luminance: L v: candela per square metre: cd/m 2 (= lm/(sr⋅m 2)) L −2 ⋅J: Luminous flux per unit solid angle per unit projected source area. The candela per square metre is sometimes called the nit. Illuminance: E v: lux (= lumen per square metre) lx (= lm/m 2) L −2 ⋅J: Luminous flux incident on a ...
Mathematically, for the spectral power distribution of a radiant exitance or irradiance one may write: =where M(λ) is the spectral irradiance (or exitance) of the light (SI units: W/m 2 = kg·m −1 ·s −3); Φ is the radiant flux of the source (SI unit: watt, W); A is the area over which the radiant flux is integrated (SI unit: square meter, m 2); and λ is the wavelength (SI unit: meter, m).
A truly dark sky has a surface brightness of 2 × 10 −4 cd m −2 or 21.8 mag arcsec −2. [9] [clarification needed] The peak surface brightness of the central region of the Orion Nebula is about 17 Mag/arcsec 2 (about 14 milli nits) and the outer bluish glow has a peak surface brightness of 21.3 Mag/arcsec 2 (about 0.27 millinits). [10]
Luminous flux per unit solid angle: Luminance: L v: candela per square metre: cd/m 2 (= lm/(sr⋅m 2)) L −2 ⋅J: Luminous flux per unit solid angle per unit projected source area. The candela per square metre is sometimes called the nit. Illuminance: E v: lux (= lumen per square metre) lx (= lm/m 2) L −2 ⋅J: Luminous flux incident on a ...
An object's surface brightness is its brightness per unit solid angle as seen in projection on the sky, and measurement of surface brightness is known as surface photometry. [9] A common application would be measurement of a galaxy's surface brightness profile, meaning its surface brightness as a function of distance from the galaxy's center.