absolute magnitude
1
8.4
- noun
- /ˈæb.sə.luːt ˈmæɡ.nɪ.tjuːd/
- Specialized
:
magnitud absoluta
- In terms of the absolute magnitudes involved, the 3×1 Program is much smaller than national-level social spending programs Oportunidades and Seguro Popular.
Examples
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But these age determinations depend sensitively on how well the absolute magnitudes are calibrated.
Academic text (1997) -
This provided the absolute magnitude calibration for Population II red giants.
Academic text (2002) -
The absolute magnitudes will differ, however.
Academic text (1997) -
However, a star that showed variations in brightness could provide the much-needed information on absolute magnitude.
Academic text (1993) -
His work on the spatial distribution of Cepheid variables was critical in calibrating their absolute magnitudes for use as distance indicators.
Academic text (2005) -
But Sirius, the stellar jewel of the night sky, has an absolute magnitude of only 1.41, which is respectably bright but doesn't make the cut.
Fiction book (2000) -
Fernley and company conclude that the pre-Hipparcos calibration of the RR Lyrae absolute magnitude needs no revision.
Academic text (1997) -
The astronomer calculated the absolute magnitude of the star, determining how bright it would appear at a distance of 10 parsecs.
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By measuring a star's distance and brightness, scientists can find its absolute magnitude, which helps in comparing different stars.
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An absolute magnitude of -1.0 means the star is extremely bright when viewed from a standard distance of 32.62 light years.
Surface Forms
Morphology
A learner who knows 'absolute' (meaning independent/complete) and 'magnitude' (a measure or size) can infer that 'absolute magnitude' refers to a measure of an object's intrinsic magnitude rather than an observed, context-dependent one. However, the precise technical sense (the standardization to the apparent magnitude at 10 parsecs and the logarithmic scale details) is domain-specific and not predictable from the constituents alone.
Etymology
The term absolute magnitude comes from the idea of measuring a star as if it were at one fixed distance from Earth so we can see its 'true brightness'. The word absolute points to that fixed, 'real' view and magnitude means the amount of light, so the phrase means a star's 'true brightness' regardless of how far away it is.