The degree of brightness of a star or other object in the sky according to a scale on which the brightest star has a magnitude -1 4 and the faintest visible star has magnitude 6 Sometimes referred to as apparent magnitude In this scale, each number is 2 5 times the brightness of the previous number Thus a star with a magnitude of 1 is 100 times brighter than on with a visual magnitude of 6
Magnitude - A numerical value for the brightness of a celestial object The brighter an object is in the sky, the smaller its magnitude The dimmer an object is in the sky, the larger its magnitude (Table reads from dimmest to brightest)
The brightness of a star or planet, expressed on a scale in which lower numbers mean greater brightness Apparent magnitude indicates the brightness of objects as we see them from Earth, regardless of their distance Absolute magnitude is defined magnitude a star would have if viewed from a standard distance of 10 parsecs (1 Parsec is 3 26 light years See below) Each step in magnitude equals a difference of 2 5 times in brightness: the brightes stars in the sky are apparent magnitude 1; the dimmest, 6 The magnitudes of extremely bright objects are expressed in negative numbers e g the apparent magnitude of the Sun is around -26
an arbitrary number, measured on a logarithmic scale, used to indicate the brightness of an object The brighter the star, the lower the numerical value of the magnitude and very bright objects have negative magnitudes
A measure of the energy released by an earthquake Measured using the Richter scale based on the amplitude of the seismic wave recorded by seismographs
The degree of brightness of a celestial body designated on a numerical scale, on which the brightest star has magnitude -1 4 and the faintest star visible to the unaided eye, has magnitude 6 A decrease of one unit represents an increase in apparent brightness by a factor of 2 512 Apparent magnitude of a star is the brightness as we see it from Earth, whilst absolute magnitude is a measure of its intrinsic luminosity Lower numbers represent brighter objects
A way of expressing the brightness of astronomical objects inherited from the Greeks In the magnitude system, a lower number indicates a brighter object (for example, a 1st magnitude star is brighter than a 3rd magnitude star) Each step in magnitude corresponds to a brightnesss difference of a factor of about 2 5 Stars of the 6th magnitude are the faintest the unaided human eye can see
A numerical expression of the amount of energy released by an earthquake, determined by measuring earthquake waves on standardized recording instruments (seismographs ) The number scale for magnitudes is logarithmic rather than arithmetic; therefore, deflections on a seismograph for a magnitude 5 earthquake, for example, are 10 times greater than those for a magnitude 4 earthquake, 100 times greater than for a magnitude 3 earthquake, and so on
the property of relative size or extent; "they tried to predict the magnitude of the explosion" relative importance; "a problem of the first magnitude
Extent of dimensions; size; applied to things that have length, breadth, and thickness
the property of relative size or extent; "they tried to predict the magnitude of the explosion"
Scale used to measure the Brightness of a object The scale is logarithmical based This means that a magnitude difference of 5 means that the one object is 100 time brighter (or more luminous) than the other Objects with a smaller magnitude are brighter The Sun has a magnitude of about -26, the full moon -12, the faintest objects you can see naked eye are typically magnitude +5, and telescopes can now detect down to about mag +29/30 There are several of magnitude: Apparent, Absolute and Bolometric Apparent - The magnitude of an object as view from the earth Absolute - The magnitude of the object if it were to be viewed from 10 parsecs away Bolometric - The magnitude of the object if all its luminosity at all wavelengths were taken into account (ie Radio -> X-rays/Gamma radiation) N
The scale on which the brightness of a star is measured The brightest stars are first magnitude stars The faintest stars we can see with the unaided eye are fifth or sixth magnitude Sixth magnitude stars are 100x fainter than first magnitude stars
A measure of the strength of an earthquake or strain energy released by it, as determined by seismographic observations This is a logarithmic value originally defined by Charles Richter (1935) An increase of one unit of magnitude (for example, from 4 6 to 5 6) represents a 10-fold increase in wave amplitude on a seismogram or approximately a 30-fold increase in the energy released In other words, a magnitude 6 7 earthquake releases over 900 times (30 times 30) the energy of a 4 7 earthquake - or it takes about 900 magnitude 4 7 earthquakes to equal the energy released in a single 6 7 earthquake! There is no beginning nor end to this scale However, rock mechanics seems to preclude earthquakes smaller than about -1 or larger than about 9 5 A magnitude -1 0 event release about 900 times less energy than a magnitude 1 0 quake Except in special circumstances, earthquakes below magnitude 2 5 are not generally felt by humans
The size (of the earthquake), a measure of how large the shake was This is measured on a scale known as the Richter Scale
Greatness, in reference to influence or effect; importance; as, an affair of magnitude