luminosity

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luminositysearch for term: A measure of the rate of energy flowing from a source, such as a galaxy, star, or light bulb. Luminosity tells astronomers how fast energy "leaks" from the star. It is a measure of power, and it is measured in units called watts. Given the luminosity of a star, an astronomer can calculate the distance to the star by measuring the star's brightness. Luminosity is also related to temperature, mass and size of a star.