Flux Ratio from Magnitudes

The Flux Ratio from Magnitudes calculator computes the ratio of the intensity of light coming from two celestial objects based on their magnitudes (m₁ and m₂).

INSTRUCTIONS: Enter the following:

• (m₁) Intensity of light magnitude associated with object 1.
• (m₂) Intensity of light magnitude associated with object 2.

Flux Ratio (FxR):  The calculator returns the flux ratio.

The Math / Science

The Flux Ratio from Magnitudes is the ratio of the intensity of light coming from two celestial objects based on their magnitudes.  Two different objects with magnitudes m₁ and m₂ have a corresponding flux ratio given by this formula:

                       `FxR = 100^((m_2−m_1) / 5)`

where:

• FxR = Flux Ratio
• m₂ = magnitude of first object
• m₁ = magnitude of second object

The flux ratio, f₂/f₁ is the ratio of the intensity of light coming from object 1 compared to the intensity coming from object 2.

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