star A is 4 magnitudes brighter than star B .how does the apparent brightness of star A compare with that of star B?
According to the Pogson's ratio (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apparent_magnitude#Calculations) the ratio of the apparent brightness of the stars is equal to:
where , and are apparent brightnesses of the stars A and B respectively, are magnitudes of these stars. According to the problem statement . Thus:
Answer. Star A is 39.8 times brighter than star B.
Comments