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How the Harvard spectral sequence — O / B / A / F / G / K / M — places every member on a temperature-grounded stellar class. The canonical magnitude aspect, locked v1.0.

Lock status. The magnitude aspect type system is LOCKED v1.0 (Harvard 7-class O / B / A / F / G / K / M, plus temperature bands and log brightness). The class-to-color mapping is fluid within the Stellar v3.0 palette. See .claude/rules/decision-lock.md and the canonical reference docs/canon/multiplex-ontology.md §4.

What it is

The magnitude aspect places every member of the network on a stellar-class sequence — the same Harvard sequence astronomers use to classify stars by surface temperature. It is one aspect of the multiplex (see Multiplex Ontology); it is not the only ranking and is not identity. Identity is apophatic — not scored.

Why a stellar class

Two empirical findings make the stellar metaphor literal, not decorative:

Money exchange yields a Boltzmann-Gibbs distribution at equilibrium (Dragulescu-Yakovenko 2000, Eur. Phys. J. B 17:723). Lanchier (2017) proves this distribution is topology-invariant — it holds on any finite connected graph, not just complete graphs. Every aspect-sliced subgraph of the network has a well-defined Boltzmann temperature T = M / N (total flow over agent count).
Wealth has a two-regime distribution (Rosser 2021, Entropy 23:1286). The bottom ≈97% follows the Boltzmann body; the top ≈2–3% follows a Pareto power-law tail. This is the HR-diagram pattern: the main sequence is the BG body; the "giant" regime is the Pareto tail.

Money flow is statistically a temperature observable. Mapping that observable onto Harvard spectral classes is grounded, not analogical decoration.

The 7 classes

Class	Surface temperature (analog)	Color register	Indicative tier
M	cool red, ~2,400–3,700 K	warm red	Observer / entry
K	orange, 3,700–5,200 K	orange	Initiate
G	yellow, 5,200–6,000 K	yellow	Explorer
F	yellow-white, 6,000–7,500 K	yellow-white	(interpolation between Explorer and Navigator)
A	white, 7,500–10,000 K	white	Navigator
B	blue-white, 10,000–30,000 K	blue-white	Founder
O	blue, > 30,000 K	blue	reserved (legendary)

Hotter star → more thermodynamic energy → higher class. Class-to-color mapping is tunable within the Stellar v3.0 palette; the type system is fixed.

Apparent vs absolute

Following standard astronomy:

Apparent magnitude is what you read off the screen — the brightness as seen from where you are (function of contribution + distance / network position).
Absolute magnitude is the intrinsic brightness — what a member would look like if every observer stood the same distance away.

Both are derived from the CES contribution score with the canonical scaling. See packages/neo4j-scoring/src/services/apparent-magnitude.ts and absolute-magnitude.ts for the live functions.

What it is not

Not identity. Identity is Member { did }, an apophatic core; the magnitude class is one aspect that describes a member, not what the member is.
Not a single rank. Magnitude is one aspect among many (contribution-type, realm, participant-class, market-function, …). A member with a high magnitude class on the Knowledge layer can hold a different class on the Value layer.
Not the Stellar v3.0 brand colors per se. Stellar v3.0 (Florin / Joule / Earth / Network / Wisdom) is brand canonical. The magnitude class palette borrows the same color space but is technically distinct — see canon §15.

Code anchors

Type: MagnitudeAspect in packages/types/src/magnitude.ts
Pipeline: classFromTemperature, colorForClass, colorForTemperature in packages/neo4j-core/src/lib/spectral-mapping.ts
Apparent: apparentMagnitudeFromDegree, apparentMagnitudeFromDegrees in packages/neo4j-scoring/src/services/apparent-magnitude.ts
Absolute: absoluteMagnitudeFromMeritScore, stellarMagnitudeFromScores in packages/neo4j-scoring/src/services/absolute-magnitude.ts
Sync: MemberMagnitudeSyncService, syncNetworkMagnitudes in packages/neo4j-scoring/src/
Migration: packages/neo4j/migrations/081_member_stellar_magnitude.cypher
First UI surface: apps/app/app/(authenticated)/humans/components/person-card.tsx (magnitudeClass badge + tooltip)

Magnitude Aspect