Absolute magnitude is a measure of the intrinsic brightness of a celestial object, such as a star. It indicates how bright the object would appear if it were located at a standard distance of 10 parsecs (about 32.6 light-years) from Earth. This allows astronomers to compare the true brightness of different stars without the effects of distance. The scale for absolute magnitude is logarithmic, meaning that a difference of 5 magnitudes corresponds to a brightness factor of 100. For example, a star with an absolute magnitude of 1 is 100 times brighter than a star with an absolute magnitude of 6. This concept is essential for understanding the properties of stars and other celestial bodies, including the Sun and distant galaxies.