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Stars

The Sun

How bright is the Sun compared to other stars?

The apparent magnitude of the Sun is a large negative number. As viewed in visible light, the Sun has m = –26.7 brightness because it is so close and, thus, has the lowest apparent magnitude of any celestial object. The Sun’s absolute magnitude is 4.8 as viewed in visible light. This number, unlike the Sun’s apparent magnitude, is roughly in the middle of the range of most stars.



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