Validation of “Sloan Magnitudes for the Brightest Stars” and Suggestions for Observing with Small Telescopes

Volume 43 number 2 (2015)

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Anthony Mallama

14012 Lancaster Lane, Bowie, MD 20715; anthony.mallama@gmail.com

Bruce Krobusek

5950 King Hill Drive, Farmington, NY 14425; bkrobusek@gmail.com

Abstract

Synthetic magnitudes derived from published spectral fluxes and photometric magnitudes from CCD observations are compared to those values listed in the catalogue “Sloan Magnitudes for the Brightest Stars.” The RMS differences for synthetic and observed magnitudes generally agree with the transformation-based catalogue values within the uncertainties quoted therein. These quoted values are 0.03 magnitude for the g', r', i', and z' bands, and 0.08 magnitude for the u' band. When separated according to stellar color the RMS values of the red stars are generally smaller than those of the blue stars.