Apparent magnitude to times brighter
Type a value in mag to get it in × brighter instantly.
That's 41× as bright as Polaris, while the naked-eye limit is 1.58× fainter. That is bright enough to see with the naked eye from a dark site.
Convert the other way: × brighter to mag
What it means
How bright is that?
These are apparent magnitudes: how bright something looks from Earth, not how much light it truly gives out.
The math
How to convert mag to × brighter
Magnitude is logarithmic and inverted: m = −2.5 × log₁₀(brightness ratio), and back again ratio = 10^(−m ÷ 2.5). Five magnitudes is exactly a hundredfold.
Example: 6 mag = 0.00398107 × brighter.
Every unit
Your brightness in every unit
Tables
mag to × brighter conversion table
| mag | × brighter |
|---|---|
| -26 mag | 2.512×10¹⁰ × brighter |
| -12 mag | 63,095.7 × brighter |
| -4 mag | 39.8107 × brighter |
| -1 mag | 2.51189 × brighter |
| 0 mag | 1 × brighter |
| 1 mag | 0.398107 × brighter |
| 3 mag | 0.0630957 × brighter |
| 6 mag | 0.00398107 × brighter |
| 10 mag | 1×10⁻⁴ × brighter |
| 15 mag | 1×10⁻⁶ × brighter |
| 20 mag | 1×10⁻⁸ × brighter |
| 25 mag | 1×10⁻¹⁰ × brighter |
× brighter to mag conversion table
| × brighter | mag |
|---|---|
| 1×10⁻¹⁰ × brighter | 25 mag |
| 1×10⁻⁸ × brighter | 20 mag |
| 1×10⁻⁶ × brighter | 15 mag |
| 0.0001 × brighter | 10 mag |
| 0.00398 × brighter | 6.00029 mag |
| 0.0631 × brighter | 2.99993 mag |
| 0.398 × brighter | 1.00029 mag |
| 1 × brighter | 0 mag |
| 2.51 × brighter | -0.999184 mag |
| 39.8 × brighter | -3.99971 mag |
| 63,100 × brighter | -12.0001 mag |
| 2.51×10¹⁰ × brighter | -25.9992 mag |
Quick answers
Quick answers
- How many × brighter is 1 mag?
- 1 mag is 0.398107 × brighter.
- How many × brighter is 10 mag?
- 10 mag is 1×10⁻⁴ × brighter.
- How many × brighter is 6 mag?
- 6 mag is 0.00398107 × brighter.
The units
About these units
Apparent magnitude (mag)
The astronomer’s brightness scale, running backwards from bright to faint.
Times brighter (× brighter)
How many times brighter than magnitude 0, the way most people would put it.
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