Here's why:
* Absolute magnitude measures a star's intrinsic brightness, meaning how much light it actually emits. Two stars with the same absolute magnitude are equally luminous.
* Apparent magnitude is what we see from Earth. It's affected by both a star's absolute magnitude and its distance from us.
* Light spreads out as it travels. The farther away a star is, the more its light spreads out, making it appear dimmer.
Therefore, even though both stars have the same absolute magnitude, the closer star will have a brighter apparent magnitude, making it appear brighter in the night sky.
