Moment magnitude scale magnitude corresponds to a 10 ≈ 32 times increase in the amount of energy released, and an increase of two steps corresponds to a 10 = 1000 times increase in energy. Thus, an earthquake of of 7.0 contains 1000 times as much energy as one of 5.0 and about 32 times that of 6.0. The moment magnitude (>) scale was introduced to address the shortcomings of the Richter scale (detailed above) while maintaining consistency. Thus, for medium-sized earthquakes, the moment magnitude values should be similar to Richter values. That is, a magnitude 5.0 earthquake will be about a 5.0 on
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