Classifying stars

How would you do it?

 This week’s work 25th April
Date Day Focus Spec
26 Tuesday • Classification of stars by luminosity A.1.3.1
• ‘m’agnitude
• Grease spot photometer
27 Wednesday • ‘M’agnitude A.1.3.2

28 Thursday • The parsec, the lightyear, the AU A.1.3.3

• ‘M’agnitude and ‘m’agnitude

A.1.3.1 Classification of Stars

Classification by luminosity
Relation between brightness and apparent magnitude.
A.1.3.2 Apparent magnitude, m
Relation between intensity and apparent magnitude.
Measurement of m from photographic plates and distinction between photographic and visual magnitude not required.
A.1.3.3 Absolute magnitude, M
Parsec and light year.
Definition of M, relation to m
m - M = 5 log d/10
Starlight Star
bright
Some stars look brighter than
others.
In about 120 BC the Greek
astronomer Hipparchus
produced a catalogue of over
1000 stars and their relative
brightness. He used a 6 point
scale, with 1 being the
brightest and 6 the dimmest.
Q: What’s wrong with this
method
Small m ‘m’agnitude - Why
• The modern version of this is called the apparent
magnitude scale. In simple qualitative terms this is
the brightness of the star as seen from Earth.
• This is to avoid problems with the non visible parts
of the spectrum which should not be included in
this simpler definition.
• Terms like luminosity or intensity should not be
used. They have specific meanings with stars
o Luminosity is the total power radiated by a star.
o Intensity is the power per unit area at the observer.
Apparent magnitude – “As it appears to be”
• Apparent magnitude is simply a scale of brightness (as judged by an
observer) which decreases as brightness increases, 6 for the faintest
stars which can be seen with the naked eye on a good night.
Q: Why do some star appear brighter than others?
A: The fact that some stars appear brighter than others can be due to
two reasons; it could be closer, or it could be emitting more power at
visible wavelengths. The brightest star in The Plough, for example,
happens to be the furthest away.
• We are still only using is the “visible luminosity”. As a star’s luminosity
is its total power output at all wavelengths. it is often referred to as
the “bolumetric luminosity”. It would not be helpful to catalogue a
star’s true/bolumetric luminosity for observers to use with optical
telescopes.
The fact that some stars appear brighter than others can be due to two
reasons; it could be closer, or it could be emitting more power at visible
wavelengths. The brightest star in The Plough, for example, happens to be the
furthest away

We are still only using is the “visible luminosity”. As a star’s luminosity is its
total power output at all wavelengths. it is often referred to as the “bolumetric
luminosity”. It would not be helpful to catalogue a star’s true/bolumetric
luminosity for observers to use with optical telescopes.
‘m’agnitude measured
• With modern measuring techniques (eg photography, CCD
cameras) a more quantitative approach to apparent magnitude
can be made.
• The devices allow the intensity of the light from a star to be
measured. The apparent magnitude scale now takes on a more
precise meaning.
• The branch of astronomy that deals with this is called photometry.
• Towards the end of the 1700s, William
Herschel devised one simple but inaccurate
method to measure the brightness of stars.
One key point that arose from his work was
the fact that a first magnitude star delivers
about 100 times as much light to Earth as
that of a sixth magnitude star.
“–1” means “× 2.5” DUH!!
5 steps is 100 times
• In 1856, following the development of a more precise method of
photometry, Norman Pogson produced a quantitative scale of
apparent magnitudes. Like Herschel he suggested that observers

brighter
receive 100 times more light from a first magnitude star than from a
sixth magnitude star.
• Because of the way light is perceived by an observer, equal intervals
The steps are logarithmic
in brightness are actually equal ratios of light intensity received – the

So each step is ​⁵​√100 times

scale is logarithmic. Pogson proposed that an increase of one on the
apparent magnitude scale corresponded to an increase in intensity

bigger
received by 2.51, ie the fifth root of 100 (​⁵​√100). Thus a fourth
magnitude star is 2.51 times brighter than a fifth magnitude star, but

If we use this for other

6.31 times brighter than a sixth magnitude star.
• With the faintest stars having an apparent magnitude of 6, this scale -26 - 6 = -32

objects we go up to –26
allows the brightest stars to have negative apparent magnitudes, the
brightest star having an apparent magnitude of –26. 2.5132 = 6.16 × 1012

Q: How many time brighter is the brightest star than a 6? 6 trillion time brigther
After all that history
• Apparent magnitude, m​
• ​The lower the number, the brighter the ​scale, Wikipedia
lists from
originally 1-6 but now ±whatever we define –40 to +36
• Based on a logarithmic scale​
• ​A change of 1 on the scale corresponds to ​an
increase in intensity of × 2.51 or (​⁵​√100)
 Intensity is the
power per unit area
SI is the best at the observer.

Pogsoni’s scale allows the intensity, I, measured to be converted to a numerical apparent

magnitude.

Making the 1-6 scale mathematical allows us to convert from SI units (lux ) to a silly made
up comparative scale

𝐼 Real formula
𝑚=−2.51 log ⁡( −6
)
2.56 ×10

Where lux is the intensity for a magnitude 0 star, and the log is to base 10.

Questions will not be set on this equation, although its important features should be taught.

In particular, the negative relationship between intensity and apparent magnitude and the
2.51 ratio for a difference in apparent magnitude of 1, and, therefore, the log scale used for
apparent magnitudes..
Greasy spots
After all that history
• Apparent magnitude, m​
• ​The lower the number, the brighter the ​scale, Wikipedia
lists from
originally 1-6 but now ±whatever we define –40 to +36
• Based on a logarithmic scale​
• ​A change of 1 on the scale corresponds to ​an
increase in intensity of × 2.51 or (​⁵​√100)
Absolute Magnitude
Long distances
• It is clear that apparent magnitude tells you very little about the
properties of the star itself, unless you know how far away it is.
• Astronomical distances are extremely big – and several different
units of distance exist to make the numbers smaller and more
manageable.
 Long distances
• It is clear that apparent magnitude tells you very little about the
properties of the star itself, unless you know how far away it is.
• Astronomical distances are extremely big – and several different units
of distance exist to make the numbers smaller and more manageable.
• The light year: distance travelled by light in a vacuum in one year.
• It can be easily converted into metres by multiplying the speed of light in a vacuum (3 × 108 m/s) by
the number of seconds in a year (365 × 24 × 3600) to get 9.46 × 1015 m.

• The AU (astronomical unit) is the mean distance from the Sun to the
Earth and has a value of 1.5 × 10-11 m.
• The unit which causes students the biggest problem is the parsec:
the distance from which 1 AU subtends an angle of 1 arc second
(1/3600th of a degree),
The parsec English
The distance from which
1 AU subtends an angle of
1 arc second (1/3600th of
a degree),

1 circle = 360°
1° = 60’ (arc minutes)
1’ = 1’’ (arc second)
 At the equator, the circumference of
the earth is 40,076 km.
The arc second There are 360 degrees in a circle,
• 51°31'48.2"N
• 0°05'51.9"W 40076 / 360 = 111.32 km/degree
(the accepted figure is 111.325 km).
Circumference 40,076km
111.32/60 = 1.86km/arc minute
What is 1 degree on earth?
0.031 km/arc second or 31m
What is 1 arc minute on earth?
31/10 = 3.1 Resolution is 3.1m
What is 1 arc second on earth?

What is the resolution of the As a note, the earth is not a perfect

above co-ordinates? sphere, so the distance varies slightly
between the equator and the pole.
The parsec English
The distance from which A right angle triangle with
1 AU subtends an angle of an angle of 1 arc second and
1 arc second (1/3600th of an opposite side of 1AU
a degree),

1 arc
1 circle = 360° second
1° = 60’ (arc minutes)
1’ = 1’’ (arc second) 1 parsec

1 AU
 Real
geometry
is a bit
different
Use the same principle to measure the
distance in this class
• Look at a nearby object from two points.
• Place a pen on the other side of the desk
• Line it up with something the background like a clock
• Go to a second point 30cm next to the first point.
• Measure the angle between it and the clock
• Use trigonometry to calculate the distance

D
Assume the angle between you and the clock has not changed.
α
Why the parsec
• The parsec is an important unit because of the way
distances to nearby stars can be determined
trigonometrical parallax.
• It is pure geometry
• This involves measuring how the apparent position
of a star, against the much more distant
background stars, changes as the Earth goes around
the Sun.
• 1 pc is approximately 3.26 light year.
 CAPSLOCK
ABSOLUTE ‘M’AGNITUDE
• The absolute magnitude of a star is the apparent magnitude it would have at a
distance of 10 pc
• It is a measure of a star’s inherent brightness.
• This means that absolute and apparent magnitudes are measured on the
same logarithmic scale.
• As light intensity reduces in proportion to the inverse square of the distance,
the relationship between apparent and absolute magnitude can be related to
distance, d, by the equation:

d is measured in parsec, and the log is to base 10.

 Bigger or small M and m
Q: If the star is closer than 10pc will it have a larger Magnitude or magnitude?
A: Stars which are closer than 10 pc (about 33 light years) have a brighter
(more negative) apparent magnitude than absolute magnitude. m-M < 0 or
m<M
Q: If the star is closer than 10pc will it have a larger Magnitude or magnitude?
A: Stars further than 10 pc have a dimmer (more positive) apparent magnitude
than absolute magnitude. m-M > 0 or m>M
Q: How do m and M compare for stars a 10pc?
A: If m = M, the star must be 10 pc away.
Larger/smaller/more are all confusing, say DIMMER and BRIGHTER
ly pc
Q: Calculate the distance (in both PC and ly for the following) 9 2.7
33 10
52 16
2014 page 8,9

2010 page 4

2012 page 7