section_path: Physical diameters/Isophotal diameter
section_name: Isophotal diameter
paragraph_text: Isophotal diameter
  
  The isophotal diameter is introduced as a conventional way of measuring a galaxy's size based on its apparent surface brightness. Isophotes are curves in a diagram - such as a picture of a galaxy - that adjoins points of equal brightnesses, and are useful in defining the extent of the galaxy. The apparent brightness flux of a galaxy is measured in units of magnitudes per square arcsecond (mag/arcsec; sometimes expressed as mag arcsec), which defines the brightness depth of the isophote. To illustrate how this unit works, a typical galaxy has a brightness flux of 18 mag/arcsec at its central region. This brightness is equivalent to the light of an 18th magnitude hypothetical point object (like a star) being spread out evenly in a one square arcsecond area of the sky. The isophotal diameter is typically defined as the region enclosing all the light down to 25 mag/arcsec in the blue B-band, which is then referred to as the D standard.