How can a star have a low apparent magnitude and a high absolute magnitude?

A. if it is very close to Earth

B. if it is a very young star

C. if it is very far from Earth

Hi there!

To understand how a star can have both a low apparent magnitude and a high absolute magnitude, we must first understand what those two words mean.

Apparent magnitude - Stars luminosity as it apparently looks from Earth

Absolute magnitude - Stars luminosity from a set distance regardless of actual distance to Earth

A star that is very far from Earth can appear dim and therefore seem to have a low apparent magnitude, but actually be very bright and have a high absolute magnitude. Therefore, the correct answer would be ...

C. If it is very far from Earth