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

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

From The Value of Money by Anderson, Benjamin M.

By this method the absolute magnitude, and hence the distance of a star is accurately determined from estimates of the relative intensities of certain lines in stellar spectra.

From Astronomy: The Science of the Heavenly Bodies by Todd, David Peck

What is the absolute magnitude of the near stars that are not contained in table?

From Lectures on Stellar Statistics by Charlier, Carl Vilhelm Ludvig

The absolute magnitude of a star is inferred from the relative intensities of certain lines in its spectrum, so that the observed apparent magnitude at once enables us to calculate the distance of the star.

From Astronomy: The Science of the Heavenly Bodies by Todd, David Peck

Its absolute magnitude is -0m.3, i.e., fainter than the apparent magnitude, from which we may conclude that it has a distance from us smaller than one siriometer.

From Lectures on Stellar Statistics by Charlier, Carl Vilhelm Ludvig