Richter magnitude scale the same thing is that at different distances, for different hypocentral depths, and for different earthquake sizes, the amplitudes of different types of elastic waves must be measured. formula_2 is the scale used for the majority of earthquakes reported (tens of thousands) by local and regional seismological observatories. For large earthquakes worldwide, the moment magnitude scale (MMS) is most common, although formula_3 is also reported frequently. The seismic moment, formula_12, is proportional to the area of the rupture times the average slip that took place in the earthquake, thus it measures the physical size of the event. formula_5 is derived
Absolute magnitude and a difference of n magnitudes in absolute magnitude corresponds to a luminosity ratio of 100. For example, a star of absolute magnitude M=3 would be 100 times more luminous than a star of absolute magnitude M=8 as measured in the V filter band. The Sun has absolute magnitude M=+4.83. Highly luminous objects can have negative absolute magnitudes: for example, the Milky Way galaxy has an absolute B magnitude of about −20.8. An object's absolute bolometric magnitude represents its total luminosity over all wavelengths, rather than in a single filter band, as expressed on a logarithmic magnitude scale. To convert