Tully-Fisher relation
An observed relation between the luminosity of spiral galaxies and their maximum rotation velocity. The Tully-Fisher relation is used as a way of estimating distances to spirals. The form is a linear relation between the absolute magnitude of a galaxy and the logarithm of the velocity at the flat part of the rotation curve, although the slopes and intercepts of these relations are different for Sa, Sb, and Sc type galaxies. Approximations made in deriving the relation are that the mass-to-light ratios are constant for all galaxies and that the average surface brightness of all galaxies is also equal.
Related category
• GALAXIES
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