Metal-rich

Photometric colors

Astronomers can estimate metallicities through measured and calibrated systems that correlate photometric measurements and spectroscopic measurements (see also Spectrophotometry). For example, the Johnson UVB filters can be used to detect an ultraviolet (UV) excess in stars, where a smaller UV excess indicates a larger presence of metals that absorb the UV radiation, thereby making the star appear "redder". The UV excess, δ(U−B), is defined as the difference between a star's U and B band magnitudes, compared to the difference between U and B band magnitudes of metal-rich stars in the Hyades cluster. Unfortunately, δ(U−B) is sensitive to both metallicity and temperature: If two stars are equally metal-rich, but one is cooler than the other, they will likely have different δ(U−B) values (see also Blanketing effect). To help mitigate this degeneracy, a star's B−V color index can be used as an indicator for temperature. Furthermore, the UV excess and B−V index can be corrected to relate the δ(U−B) value to iron abundances.