apparent magnitude

noun

: the luminosity of a celestial body (such as a star) as observed from the earth compare absolute magnitude

Examples of apparent magnitude in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The fifth brightest star in the night sky and about 25 light-years away, this blue star is a yardstick for judging stars’ apparent magnitude or brightness. Jamie Carter, Forbes, 23 Sep. 2024 The two teams in the 1990s chose to plot redshift (velocity) on the x axis and apparent magnitude (distance) on the y axis. Richard Panek, Scientific American, 1 Dec. 2023 There are different types of magnitudes but the ones listed below are in apparent magnitude, or how bright a star or other object in the sky looks to someone observing from Earth. Elizabeth Gamillo, Discover Magazine, 5 Mar. 2024 The fifth brightest star in the night sky and about 25 light-years away, this blue star is a yardstick for judging the apparent magnitude, or brightness, of stars. Jamie Carter, Forbes, 5 June 2022 Vega is how the apparent magnitude of stars—their brightness—is measured. Jamie Carter, Forbes, 31 May 2021 For example, Neptune has an apparent magnitude of about 7.7. Jackie Wattles, CNN, 2 July 2020 The dimmest stars humans can see with the naked eye have an apparent magnitude (intrinsic magnitude modified by distance) of about 6 (lower numbers are brighter). Jay Bennett, Popular Mechanics, 26 Mar. 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'apparent magnitude.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1708, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of apparent magnitude was in 1708

Dictionary Entries Near apparent magnitude

Cite this Entry

“Apparent magnitude.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/apparent%20magnitude. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

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