Abstract
A REQUEST TO ASTRONOMERS THE scales adopted by different observers in their estimates of stellar magnitudes differ considerably from each other, as is well known. As regards the brighter stars, these differences, indeed, are comparatively unimportant; but they become larger and more perplexing when the objects observed are faint. Variations of three or four magnitudes may be expected between the estimates made of the brightness of minute companions seen near a brilliant star. It is needless to point out the inconvenience of this state of affairs, which at times nearly deprives the estimated magnitudes, found in catalogues, of their meaning, and consequently of their value.
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PICKERING, E. Stellar Magnitudes . Nature 20, 14–15 (1879). https://doi.org/10.1038/020014a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/020014a0