| Data Analysis: Create Color-Magnitude Diagram A
Color-Magnitude Diagram often uses absolute magnitude for the Y-axis, and the B-V color
index for the X-axis. The absolute magnitude can be calculated from the apparent magnitude
and the distance to the star. This data can be collected from TheSky for brighter stars,
but for many of the fainter stars a distance is not given. Since we are observing an open
cluster, however, we can make the assumption that the stars lie approximately at the same
distance from us, so in this case we can use apparent magnitude for the Y-axis on the
Color Magnitude Diagram. |
