absolute magnitude

American  

noun

Astronomy.

1. the magnitude of a star as it would appear to a hypothetical observer at a distance of 10 parsecs or 32.6 light-years.

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absolute magnitude British  

noun

1. the apparent magnitude a given star would have if it were situated at a distance of 10 parsecs (32.6 light years) from the earth

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absolute magnitude Scientific  

1. See under at magnitude

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Etymology

Origin of absolute magnitude

First recorded in 1900–05

Compare meaning

How does absolute-magnitude compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• apparent magnitude vs. absolute magnitude

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

absolute magnitude

The incompatibility of the two opposing conceptions comes out strikingly here: if value be an absolute magnitude, then there can be a general rise or fall of values without disturbing exchange ratios at all—12:6::6:3.

From Social Value A Study in Economic Theory Critical and Constructive by Benjamin M. (Benjamin McAlester) Anderson

My account here is adequate for the question at issue, which is, not as to the absolute magnitude of trade, but rather, as to the proportions of speculation and other elements in trade.

From The Value of Money by Benjamin M. Anderson

We shall find that only the greatest and most luminous stars in the stellar system have a negative value of the absolute magnitude.

From Lectures on Stellar Statistics by Carl Vilhelm Ludvig Charlier

The absolute magnitude of this star is 11m.7 and it is, with the exception of one other, the very faintest star now known.

From Lectures on Stellar Statistics by Carl Vilhelm Ludvig Charlier

Kemmerer does not, in general, assign an absolute magnitude for "trade," but for 1890 he gives a figure.

From The Value of Money by Benjamin M. Anderson