Magnitude Scales

Vocabulary flashcards based on concepts related to the magnitude scale in astrophysics.

Apparent Magnitude

The brightness of an astronomical object as observed from Earth, influenced by distance.

Absolute Magnitude

The magnitude of a star if it were placed 10 parsecs from Earth, used to compare true brightness.

Brightness

The intensity of light that an astronomical object emits, which can be measured in flux.

Flux

The total amount of energy per second that passes through a unit area (measured in watts per square meter).

Inverse Square Law

A principle stating that the brightness of an object decreases with the square of the distance from the observer.

Magnitude Scale

A system that ranks stars based on their brightness, where brighter stars have smaller magnitude numbers.

Distance Modulus

The difference between apparent and absolute magnitudes, used to calculate the distance to stars.

Hipparchus

An ancient Greek astronomer who invented the apparent magnitude system to catalog stars.

Logarithmic Scale

A scale in which each step represents a multiplication or division of a fixed factor, often used in measuring brightness.

Brightness Ratio

The relative brightness between two astronomical objects, used to define their magnitude difference through a specific formula.