Definition of Airmass

For air mass in meteorology, see air mass.

In astronomy, airmass is the optical path length through Earth's atmosphere for light from a celestial source. As it passes through the atmosphere, light is attenuated by scattering and absorption; the more atmosphere through which it passes, the greater the attenuation. Consequently, celestial bodies at the horizon appear less bright than when at the zenith. The attenuation, known as atmospheric extinction, is described quantitatively by the Beer-Lambert-Bouguer law.