ABSOLUTE MAGNITUDE Definition & Meaning

absolute magnitude

noun

Astronomy.

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

absolute magnitude

noun

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

absolute magnitude

See under at magnitude

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of absolute magnitude¹

First recorded in 1900–05

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Compare Meanings

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

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

“The absolute magnitude of these adverse effects is modest, but clinically relevant,” the report’s authors wrote.

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These reddening corrections were applied to the photometry to calculate absolute magnitudes and bolometric luminosities.

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I had underestimated the scope and scale of dishonesty, its depth and breadth, its absolute magnitude.

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Then it was found that the average absolute magnitude of the twenty-five brightest stars in a cluster is also a uniform standard, or about 1.3 magnitudes brighter than the mean magnitude of the variables.

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When we say "absolute magnitude," we do not mean a magnitude which stands out of all relations to other facts in the universe.

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