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Mass to light ratio


In astrophysics and physical cosmology the mass to light ratio, normally designated with the Greek upsilon symbol , is the quotient between the total mass of a spatial volume (typically on the scales of a galaxy or a cluster) and its luminosity. These ratios are often reported using the value calculated for the Sun as a baseline ratio which is a constant = 5133 kg/W equal to a solar mass (M) divided by a solar luminosity (L), (M/L). The mass to light ratios of galaxies and clusters are all much greater than due in part to the fact that most of the matter in these objects does not reside within stars and observations suggest that a large fraction is present in the form of dark matter.


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