Can you use the apparent magnitudes of two stars to predict which star is brighter in terms of absolute magnitude? Explain your answer using two stars in the table.
here are the two stars: Archennar: 0.46 ( apparent magnitude ) -1.3 ( absolute magnitude ) Capella 0.08 ( apparent magnitude ) 0.4 ( absolute magnitude )
PLS HELP!!!!
2007-09-19 12:51:18 · 1 answers · asked by (= summer iz here =) 2 in Education & Reference ➔ Homework Help
The brightness of a star is related to two factors.
1) The magnitude of the star
2) The distance of the star from earth and
3) The age of the star
(Sorry, did I say two, I should have said three.)
The brightness is proportional to the square of its distance. If we disregard (3), above, two stars of the same brightness, to the observer, may be different distances. One could be four times as bright (four times the magnitude) but twice the distance thus appear the same.
2007-09-21 20:28:48 · answer #1 · answered by jemhasb 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋