C&I Chemistry Abbreviation

Color Index

The color index is a simple numerical expression that determines the color of an object, which in the case of a star gives its temperature. The smaller the color index, the more blue (or hotter) the object is. Conversely, the larger the color index, the more red (or cooler) the object is. This is a consequence of the logarithmic magnitude scale, in which brighter objects have smaller (more negative) magnitudes than dimmer ones.