K correction

K correction is a correction to an astronomical object's magnitude (or equivalently, its flux) that allows a measurement of a quantity of light from an object at a redshift z to be converted to an equivalent measurement in the rest frame of the object. If one could measure all the light from an object at all wavelengths (a bolometric flux), a K correction would not be required. If one measures the light emitted in an emission line, a K-correction is not required. The need for a K-correction arises because an astronomical measurement through a single filter or a single bandpass only sees a fraction of the total spectrum, redshifted into the frame of the observer. So if the observer wants to compare the measurements through a red filter of objects at different redshifts, the observer will have to apply estimates of the K corrections to these measurements to make a comparison.

The exact nature of the calculation that needs to be applied in order to perform a K correction depends upon the type of filter used to make the observation and the shape of the object's spectrum.

The term K correction was coined by Edwin Hubble, who arbitrarily chose K to represent the reduction factor in magnitude due to this effect.[1]

References

1. ^ Hubble, Edwin (1936). "Effects of Red Shifts on the Distribution of Nebulae". Astrophysical Journal 84: 517–554.

Links

* K Correction plots

* The K correction