What type of magnitude numbers are assigned to extremely bright celestial objects like the Sun?
Answer
Negative magnitudes.
The logarithmic nature of the magnitude scale ensures that the brightest objects in the sky are assigned the lowest numerical values, which include zero and negative numbers. For example, the Sun, despite being only an average star in terms of intrinsic stellar power, appears overwhelmingly bright from our proximity, resulting in an approximate apparent magnitude of -26.74. Similarly, the full Moon registers around -12.7. The dipping into the negative range signifies extreme luminosity as perceived from Earth. This mathematical convention allows the scale to compress the immense dynamic range of light that humans observe, reserving small, manageable numbers for the objects that dominate the visual field.
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