On both apparent and absolute magnitude scales , the smaller the magnitude number , the brighter the star ; the larger the magnitude number , the fainter the star . The brightest stars , on either scale , have negative magnitude numbers . The variation in brightness ( ΔL ) between two stars is calculated by subtracting the magnitude number of the brighter star ( mb ) from the magnitude number of the fainter star ( mf ) , then using the difference as an exponent for the base number 2 @.@ 512 ; that is to say :