Zero point (photometry)

For other uses, see Zero point (disambiguation).

In astronomy, the zero point in a photometric system is defined as the magnitude of an object that produces 1 count per second on the detector.[1] The zero point is used to calibrate a system to the standard magnitude system, as the flux detected from stars will vary from detector to detector.[2] Traditionally, Vega is used as the calibration star for the zero point magnitude in specific pass bands (U, B, and V), although often, an average of multiple stars is used for higher accuracy.[3] It is not often practical to find Vega in the sky to calibrate the detector, so for general purposes, any star may be used in the sky that has a known apparent magnitude.[4]

  1. ^ "HST Data Handbook, Chapter 28.1". Space Telescope Science Institute. Retrieved 2019-09-04.
  2. ^ "Zeropoints". European Southern Observatory.
  3. ^ Carroll, Bradley W.; Ostlie, Dale A. (2017). Introduction to Modern Astrophysics. Cambridge University Press. p. 77.
  4. ^ "Calibrating Photometric Data". Sheffield University.