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

Last year he published in Nature an article which, running from four different lines of argument, seeks to establish proof of the absolute magnitude of the atoms of matter.

From Western Worthies A Gallery of Biographical and Critical Sketches of West of Scotland Celebrities by Jeans, J. Stephen (James Stephen)

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 Anderson, Benjamin M.

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 Charlier, Carl Vilhelm Ludvig

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 Charlier, Carl Vilhelm Ludvig

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