<P> Absolute magnitude is a measure of the luminosity of a celestial object, on a logarithmic astronomical magnitude scale . An object's absolute magnitude is defined to be equal to the apparent magnitude that the object would have if were viewed from a distance of exactly 10 parsecs (32.6 light years), with no extinction (or dimming) of its light due to absorption by interstellar dust particles . By hypothetically placing all objects at a standard reference distance from the observer, their luminosities can be directly compared on a magnitude scale . As with all astronomical magnitudes, the absolute magnitude can be specified for different wavelength ranges corresponding to specified filter bands or passbands; for stars a commonly quoted absolute magnitude is the absolute visual magnitude, which uses the visual (V) band of the spectrum (in the UBV photometric system). Absolute magnitudes are denoted by a capital M, with a subscript representing the filter band used for measurement, such as M for absolute magnitude in the V band . </P> <P> The more luminous an object, the smaller the numerical value of its absolute magnitude . A difference of 5 magnitudes between the absolute magnitudes of two objects corresponds to a ratio of 100 in their luminosities, and a difference of n magnitudes in absolute magnitude corresponds to a luminosity ratio of 100 . For example, a star of absolute magnitude M = 3 would be 100 times more luminous than a star of absolute magnitude M = 8 as measured in the V filter band . The Sun has absolute magnitude M = + 4.83 . Highly luminous objects can have negative absolute magnitudes: for example, the Milky Way galaxy has an absolute B magnitude of about − 20.8 . </P>

Absolute magnitude is defined as the apparent magnitude that a star would have if