Apparent visual magnitude in the context of "Ring Nebula"

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⭐ Core Definition: Apparent visual magnitude

Apparent magnitude (m) is a measure of the brightness of a star, astronomical object or other celestial objects like artificial satellites. Its value depends on its intrinsic luminosity, its distance, and any extinction of the object's light caused by interstellar dust or atmosphere along the line of sight to the observer.

Unless stated otherwise, the word magnitude in astronomy usually refers to a celestial object's apparent magnitude. The magnitude scale likely dates to before the ancient Roman astronomer Claudius Ptolemy, whose star catalog popularized the system by listing stars from 1st magnitude (brightest) to 6th magnitude (dimmest). The modern scale was mathematically defined to closely match this historical system by Norman Pogson in 1856.

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Apparent visual magnitude in the context of Lambda Scorpii

Lambda Scorpii is a triple star system and the second-brightest object in the constellation of Scorpius. It is formally named Shaula; Lambda Scorpii is its Bayer designation, which is Latinised from λ Scorpii and abbreviated Lambda Sco or λ Sco. With an apparent visual magnitude of 1.63, it is one of the brightest stars in the night sky.

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Apparent visual magnitude in the context of Beta Fornacis

Beta Fornacis (Beta For, β Fornacis, β For) is solitary star in the southern constellation of Fornax. It is visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of 4.46. Based upon an annual parallax shift of 18.46 mas, it is located around 177 light years away from the Sun. At that distance, the visual magnitude is reduced by an interstellar extinction factor of 0.1.

This is an evolved, G-type giant star with a stellar classification of G8 III. It is a red clump giant, which means it has undergone helium flash and is currently generating energy through the fusion of helium at its core. Beta Fornacis has 1.33 times the mass of the Sun and, at an age of 3.3 billion years, has expanded to 10.5 times the Sun's radius. It is radiating 51 times the solar luminosity from its outer atmosphere at an effective temperature of 4,790 K.

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Apparent visual magnitude in the context of Nu Fornacis

Nu Fornacis, Latinized from ν Fornacis, is a single, variable star in the southern constellation of Fornax. It is blue-white in hue and faintly visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude that fluctuates around 4.69. This body is located approximately 370 light years distant from the Sun based on parallax, and is drifting further away with a radial velocity of +18.5 km/s. It is a candidate member of the Pisces-Eridanus stellar stream, which suggests an age of 120 million years or less.

This object is an Ap star with a stellar classification of B9.5IIIspSi matching a late B-type giant star. The 'Si' suffix indicates an abundance anomaly of silicon. It is an Alpha Canum Venaticorum variable that ranges from magnitude 4.68 down to 4.73 with a period of 1.89 days – the same as its rotational period. It is 3.65 times as massive and 245 times as luminous as the Sun, with 3.44 times the Sun's diameter.

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Apparent visual magnitude in the context of Procyon

Procyon (/ˈprsi.ɒn/) is the brightest star in the constellation of Canis Minor and usually the eighth-brightest star in the night sky, with an apparent visual magnitude of 0.34. It has the Bayer designation α Canis Minoris, which is Latinized to Alpha Canis Minoris, and abbreviated α CMi or Alpha CMi, respectively. As determined by the European Space Agency Hipparcos astrometry satellite, this system lies at a distance of just 11.46 light-years (3.51 parsecs), and is therefore one of Earth's nearest stellar neighbors.

A binary star system, Procyon consists of a white-hued main-sequence star of spectral type F5 IV–V, designated component A, in orbit with a faint white dwarf companion of spectral type DQZ, named Procyon B. The pair orbit each other with a period of 40.84 years and an eccentricity of 0.4.

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Apparent visual magnitude in the context of Alpha Doradus

Alpha Doradus, Latinized from α Doradus, is the brightest star in the southern constellation of Dorado. The distance to this system, as measured using the parallax method, is about 169 light-years (52 parsecs).

This is a binary star system with an overall apparent visual magnitude that varies between 3.26 and 3.30, making this one of the brightest naked-eye binary stars. The system consists of a subgiant star of spectral type B revolving around a giant star with spectral type A in an eccentric orbit with a period of about 12 years. The orbital separation varies from 2 astronomical units at periastron to 17.5 astronomical units at apastron. The primary, α Doradus A, is a chemically peculiar star whose atmosphere displays an abnormally high abundance of silicon, making this an Si star.

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Apparent visual magnitude in the context of Delta Crateris

Delta Crateris (δ Crt, δ Crateris) is a solitary star in the southern constellation of Crater. With an apparent visual magnitude of 3.56, it is the brightest star in this rather dim constellation. It has an annual parallax shift of 17.017 mas as measured from Earth, indicating Delta Crateris lies at a distance of 192 ly from the Sun.

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Apparent visual magnitude in the context of Beta Crateris

Beta Crateris, Latinized from β Crateris, is a binary star system in the southern constellation of Crater. It is visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of 4.46. Based upon an annual parallax shift of 9.59 mas as seen from Earth, it is around 340 light years from the Sun.

This is an astrometric binary star system with an orbital period of 6.0 years and a projected separation of 8.3 AU. The orbit has an estimated semimajor axis of 9.3 AU. The primary component A is listed as an A-type giant star with a stellar classification of A2 III. However, Houk and Smith-Moore (1988) give a main sequence classification of A1 V, while Abt and Morrell (1995) list it as a subgiant star with a class of A2 IV. The spectrum shows enhanced barium, possibly as a result of a previous mass transfer event.

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Apparent visual magnitude in the context of HD 209458

HD 209458 is a star with an orbiting exoplanet in the constellation Pegasus. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 7.65 and an absolute magnitude of 4.28. Because it is located at a distance of 157 light-years (48 parsecs) from the Sun as measured via parallax, it is not visible to the unaided eye. With good binoculars or a small telescope it should be easily detectable. The system is drifting closer with a heliocentric radial velocity of −14.8 km/s.

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Apparent visual magnitude in the context of Gamma Pegasi

Gamma Pegasi is a binary star in the constellation of Pegasus, located at the southeast corner of the asterism known as the Great Square. It has the formal name Algenib /ælˈnɪb/; the Bayer designation Gamma Pegasi is Latinized from γ Pegasi and abbreviated Gamma Peg or γ Peg. The average apparent visual magnitude of +2.84 makes this the fourth-brightest star in the constellation. The distance to this system has been measured using the parallax technique, yielding a value of roughly 470 light-years (144 parsecs).

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