Index

The Origin of the Universe

A survey of the evidence

Introduction
Measurement Overview
    Parallax Distances
    Star Sizes and Absolute Magnitudes
    Cepheid Distances
    Type 1a Supernovae Distances
    Redshift Velocities and Distances
    Age of the Stars in Globular Clusters
    The Oldest White Dwarfs
    The Cosmic Microwave Background
Conclusion

Star Sizes and Absolute Magnitudes

Astronomers understand stellar energy production processes. They understand how a star's luminosity is related to its size. They understand how a star's spectrum is related to its temperature. From a star's parallax distance, temperature and luminosity they can calculate its absolute magnitude - the brightness it would have, if it were a fixed distance from us. Astronomers have determined the size and absolute magnitudes of millions of nearby stars.

Types of Stars
Catalog of Nearby Stars
Bright Star Catalog