Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-1-2017
Department
Physics and Astronomy
School
Mathematics and Natural Sciences
Abstract
All professions have their jargon. But astronomy goes the extra parsec. Here’s an example. Vega, one of the brighter stars in the night sky, has an apparent magnitude (i.e., an apparent brightness) of approximately zero. Polaris, the North Star, has an apparent magnitude of about +2. Despite this, Vega appears brighter than Polaris, and not by two, but by a factor of about six times.
Publication Title
The Physics Teacher
Volume
55
First Page
15
Last Page
16
Recommended Citation
Sirola, C.
(2017). I Love My Baffling, Backward, Counterintuitive, Overly Complicated Magnitudes. The Physics Teacher, 55, 15-16.
Available at: https://aquila.usm.edu/fac_pubs/15856
Comments
© The Physics Teacher
Publisher's Version