Астрономияда қашықтық модулі және оның түрлері

The distance modulus is a way of expressing distances that is often used in astronomy. It describes distances on a logarithmic scale based on the astronomical magnitude system.

Distance is not the only quantity relevant in determining the difference between absolute and apparent magnitude. Absorption is another important factor, and it may even be a dominant one in particular cases (e. g., in the direction of the Galactic Center). Thus a distinction is made between distance moduli uncorrected for interstellar absorption, the values of which would overestimate distances if used naively, and absorption corrected moduli. The first ones are termed visual distance moduli and are denoted by , while the second ones are called true distance moduli and denoted by
Visual distance moduli are computed by calculating the difference between the observed apparent magnitude and some theoretical estimate of the absolute magnitude. True distance moduli require a further theoretical step; that is, the estimation of the interstellar absorption coefficient.

Distance moduli are most commonly used when expressing the distance to other galaxies in the relatively nearby universe. For example, the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is at a distance modulus of 18.5, the Andromeda Galaxy's distance modulus is 24.4, and the galaxy NGC 4548 in the Virgo Cluster has a DM of 31.0. In the case of the LMC, this means that Supernova 1987A, with a peak apparent magnitude of 2.8, had an absolute magnitude of −15.7, which is low by supernova standards. Using distance moduli makes computing magnitudes easy. As for instance, a solar type star (M= 5) in the Andromeda Galaxy (DM= 24.4) would have an apparent magnitude (m) of 5 + 24.4 = 29.4, so it would be barely visible for the Hubble Space Telescope which has a limiting magnitude of about 30. Since it is apparent magnitudes which are actually measured at a telescope, many discussions about distances in astronomy are really discussions about the putative or derived absolute magnitudes of the distant objects being observed.