The initial magnitude scale was established by Greek astronomer Hipparchus around 135 B.C.E., categorizing approximately 850 stars into six ranges from 1st (brightest) to 6th (faintest) magnitude.

If someone asks you, “How bright is that star?” and your answer is “Pretty bright,” that isn’t very useful. And, of course, it’s worthless for any type of comparative research. So for centuries, ...

Much as we measure the intensity of natural phenomena such as earthquakes or tornadoes with a “magnitude,” we also use the term to refer to a star’s brightness. Unfortunately, many beginning ...

When we observe the stars in the night sky, their brightness can be pretty dramatic, but the way astronomers measure ...

Can star magnitude be converted into a useful measurement that can be used for photography? Star brightness in foot-candles? Lumens? How do you convert the apparent magnitude of a star to something ...

Jupiter shines at magnitude -2.67 this week, the brightest it will be until October 2034. It will be easy to spot in the ...