Surface wave magnitude Surface wave magnitude The surface wave magnitude (formula_1) scale is one of the magnitude scales used in seismology to describe the size of an earthquake. It is based on measurements in Rayleigh surface waves that travel primarily along the uppermost layers of the Earth. It is currently used in People's Republic of China as a national standard(GB 17740-1999) for categorising earthquakes. Surface wave magnitude was initially developed in the 1950s by the same researchers who developed the local magnitude scale M in order to improve resolution on larger earthquakes: Recorded magnitudes of earthquakes during that time, commonly attributed to Richter,
Absolute magnitude Absolute magnitude Absolute magnitude is a measure of the luminosity of a celestial object, on a logarithmic astronomical magnitude scale. An object's absolute magnitude is defined to be equal to the apparent magnitude that the object would have if it were viewed from a distance of exactly 10 parsecs (32.6 light-years), with no extinction (or dimming) of its light due to absorption by interstellar dust particles. By hypothetically placing all objects at a standard reference distance from the observer, their luminosities can be directly compared on a magnitude scale. As with all astronomical magnitudes, the absolute magnitude can be specified