Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Astronomy |
AstronomyNoun1. The branch of physics that studies celestial bodies and the universe as a whole. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "astronomy" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1321. (references) |
Etymology: Astronomy \As*tron"o*my\, noun. [from Old English expression astronomie, French astronomie, from Latin expression astronomia, from the Greek expression, from astronomer; 'asth`r star to distribute, regulate. See Star, and Nomad.]. (Websters 1913) |
| Domain | Definition |
Aerospace | The science concerning the location, magnitudes, motions, and constitution of celestial bodies and structures. (references) |
Bible | Astronomy The Hebrews were devout students of the wonders of the starry firmanent (Amos 5:8; Ps. 19). In the Book of Job, which is the oldest book of the Bible in all probability, the constellations are distinguished and named. Mention is made of the "morning star" (Rev. 2:28; comp. Isa. 14:12), the "seven stars" and "Pleiades," "Orion," "Arcturus," the "Great Bear" (Amos 5:8; Job 9:9; 38:31), "the crooked serpent," Draco (Job 26:13), the Dioscuri, or Gemini, "Castor and Pollux" (Acts 28:11). The stars were called "the host of heaven" (Isa. 40:26; Jer. 33:22). The oldest divisions of time were mainly based on the observation of the movements of the heavenly bodies, the "ordinances of heaven" (Gen. 1:14-18; Job 38:33; Jer. 31:35; 33:25). Such observations led to the division of the year into months and the mapping out of the appearances of the stars into twelve portions, which received from the Greeks the name of the "zodiac." The word "Mazzaroth" (Job 38:32) means, as the margin notes, "the twelve signs" of the zodiac. Astronomical observations were also necessary among the Jews in order to the fixing of the proper time for sacred ceremonies, the "new moons," the "passover," etc. Many allusions are found to the display of God's wisdom and power as seen in the starry heavens (Ps. 8; 19:1-6; Isa. 51:6, etc.). Source: Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary. |
Geography | The science which treats of the constitution, relative positions and movements of heavenly bodies, including the earth. Source: European Union. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Astronomy is one of the few sciences where amateurs still play an active role, especially in the discovery and monitoring of transient phenomena. This is not to be confused with astrology, a pseudoscience which attempts to predict a person's destiny by tracking the paths of astronomical objects. Although the two fields share a common origin, they are quite different; astronomy embraces the scientific method, while astrology, with no basis in science, does not.
Given its huge scope, astronomy is divided into different branches. The divisions are not unique, however, and the intersections, as well as astronomers who work in several areas, are the rule more than the exception.
A first main distinction is between theoretical and observational astronomy and astrophysics. Observers use a variety of means to obtain data about different phenomena, data that is then used by theorists to create and constrain theories and models, to explain observations and to predict new ones. Fields of study are also categorized in another two main ways: by subject, usually according to the region of space (e.g. Galactic astronomy) or problems addressed (such as star formation or cosmology); and according to the means of obtaining the data (e.g. optical astronomy or radioastronomy)
Many of the important subfields of astronomy have their own Wikipedia articles, such as the following:
A traditional division of astronomy is given by the region of
the electromagnetic spectrum observed:
The atmosphere is opaque at the wavelengths used by X-ray astronomy, gamma-ray astronomy, UV astronomy and, except for a few wavelength "windows", Far infrared astronomy , and so observations
can be carried out only from balloons or space observatories.
In the early part of its history, astronomy involved only the observation and predictions of the motions of the objects in the sky that could be seen with the naked eye. The Rigveda refers to the 27 constellations associated with the motions of the sun and also the 12 zodiacal divisions of the sky. The ancient Greeks made many important contributions to astronomy, among them the definition of the magnitude system. The Bible contains a number of statements on the position of the earth in the universe, the nature of the stars and planets, and so forth, most of which are contradicted by modern astronomy; see Biblical cosmology. In 500 AD, Aryabhata presented a mathematical system that took the earth to spin on its axis and considered the motions of the planets with respect to the sun.
The study of astronomy almost stopped during the middle ages, except for
the work of Arabic astronomers. One of Islamic astronomer who later had an impact on Western science was al-Farghani (Abu'l-Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Kathir al-Farghani) who, in the late 9th century, he wrote extensively on the motion of celestial bodies. In the 12th century, his works were translated into Latin, and it is said that Dante got his astronomical knowledge from al-Farghani's books.
In the late 10th century, a huge observatory was built near Tehran, Iran, by the astronomer al-Khujandi who observed a series of meridian transits of the Sun, which allowed him to calculate the obliquity of the ecliptic, also known as the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the Sun. As we know today, the Earth's tilt is approximately 23o34', and al-Khujandi measured it as being 23o32'19". Using this information, he also compiled a list of latitudes and longitudes of major cities.
Omar Khayyam (Ghiyath al-Din Abu'l-Fath Umar ibn Ibrahim al-Nisaburi al-Khayyami) was a great Persian scientist, philosopher, and poet who lived from 1048-1131. He compiled many astronomical tables and performed a reformation of the calendar which was more accurate than the Julian and came close to the Gregorian. An amazing feat was his calculation of the year to be 365.24219858156 days long, which is accurate to the 6th decimal place!
The renaissance came to astronomy with the work of Copernicus, who proposed a heliocentric model of the Solar System. His work was defended, expanded upon, and corrected by the likes of Galileo Galilei and Johannes Kepler. The latter of these was the first to provide a system which described correctly the details of the motion of the planets with the Sun at the center. However, Kepler did not understand the reasons behind the laws he wrote down. It was left to Newton's invention of celestial dynamics and his law of gravitation, the final explanation of the motions of the planets. Astrophysics was a later development, which only became possible once it was understood that the elements that made up the "celestial objects" were the same that made up the Earth, and that the same laws of physics applied.
Stars were found to be far away objects, and with the advent of spectroscopy it was proved that they were similar to our own sun, but with a wide range of temperatures, masses and sizes. The existence of our galaxy, the Milky Way, as a separate group of stars was only proven in the 20th century, along with the existence of "external" galaxies, and soon after, the expansion of the universe seen in the recession of most galaxies from us. Cosmology, a discipline that has a large intersection with astronomy, made huge advances during the 20th century, with the model of the hot big bang heavily supported by the evidence provided by astronomy and physics, such as the cosmic microwave background radiation, Hubble's Law and cosmological abundances of elements.
For a more detailed history of astronomy, see the history of astronomy.
Divisions of astronomy
By subject
See list of astronomical topics for a more exhaustive list of astronomy-related pages.By way of obtaining information
In astronomy, the main way of obtaining information is through
the detection and analysis of electromagnetic radiation,
photons, but we also receive information from outside the earth carried by cosmic rays, neutrinos, and, in the near future, gravitational waves (see LIGO and LISA).
Optical and radio astronomy can be done using ground-based observatories, because the atmosphere is transparent at those wavelengths. Infrared light is heavily absorbed by
water vapor, so infrared observatories have to be located in high, dry places or in space.Short history
See also
Astronomy Tools
http://www.asimpleclick.com/nasa_related.htm for additional info
External links
Organizations
References
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Astronomy."
Synonym: AstronomySynonym: uranology (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
World | Astronomy; uranography, uranology; cosmology, cosmography, cosmogony; eidouranion, orrery; geodesy. (measurement); star gazing, star gazer; astronomer; observatory; planetarium. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
| Domain | Usage | |
Song Titles | Astronomy Domine (performing artist: Pink Floyd) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
Books |
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Periodicals |
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Theater & Movies | |||
Music |
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High Tech |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. (AURA) has reached an ... Credit: NASA. |  | Riccardo Giacconi, the "father of X-ray astronomy," has received the Nobel Prize in physics ... Credit: NASA. |
 | View from Buck Island Lagoon of east St. Croix. Telescope of National Radio Astronomy Observatory is visible. Credit: America's Coastlines. |  | Spectroscopic Astronomy / Spy [pseud.]. Credit: National Library of Medicine. |
 | Composite of astronomy equipment and components] / Henry Winkles sculpt. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Philosophy, astronomy, and history. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | 5th annual tour, B.A. Bamber's Dime Show travels, art, history, astronomy, fun, electricity : grand stereoptical dissolving views : scenes in many lands. Credit: Library of Congress. | ||
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| Author | Quotation |
Plato | Astronomy compels the soul to look upwards and leads us from this world to another. |
| It is clear to everyone that astronomy at all events compels the soul to look upwards, and draws it from the things of this world to the other. | |
Voltaire | Superstition is to religion what astrology is to astronomy; the mad daughter of a wise mother. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| "Astronomy" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 99.68% of the time. "Astronomy" is used about 316 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 99.68% | 315 | 16,262 |
| Noun (common) | 0.32% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Total | 100.00% | 316 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "astronomy": astronomy satellite ♦ astronomy unit ♦ outlines of astronomy ♦ physical astronomy ♦ radio astronomy ♦ Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy. Additional references. | |
| Hypenated Usage | |
Ending with "astronomy": archaeo-astronomy. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "astronomy"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Afrikaans | astronomie. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Albanian | astronomi. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Arabic | علم الفلك, رسالة في علم الفلك. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Basque | astronomia. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bulgarian | астрономия. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chinese | 天文 . (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Czech | astronomie. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Danish | astronomi. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dutch | sterrenkunde, astronomie. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Esperanto | astronomio. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Farsi | هیلت (Attitude, Commission, Configuration, Corps, Hue, Panel, Physique, Staff), ستاره شناسی (Astrology, Uranology), علم هیلت , علم نجوم , طالع بینی (Astrology). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Finnish | tähtitiede, astronomia. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
French | astronomie. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Frisian | stjerrekunde. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
German | sternkunde, astronomie, Himmelskunde. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Greek | αστρονομία. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hebrew | חקר "כוכבים, אסטרו ומי". (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hungarian | csillagászat (star-gazing). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Indonesian | astronomy, perbintangan (astrology, constelation, horoscope), ilmu falak (cosmography). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Italian | astronomia. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Kanji | 星学 , 天文学 , 天文 . (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Katakana | せいがく (vocal music), て"も"がく, て"も". (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Korean | 천문학 (Astronomical). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Manx | rollageydys. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Occitan | astronomia. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Papiamen | astronomia. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | astronomyay astronomia (star-gazing). (various references) astronomie. (various references) астрономия. (various references) bonepadinaledi. (various references) astronomija. (various references) astronomía. (various references) astronomi. (various references) astronomi, astronomí, gökbilim (limnology). (various references) astronomiяa (r). (various references) астрономія (stargazing). (various references) thiên văn học (uranology). (various references) seryddiaeth. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | astrologia, astronomia, caeleste, caelesti, caelestia, caelestibus, caelestis, caelestium. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words ending with "astronomy": archaeoastronomy, gastronomy. (additional references) | |
| |
"Astronomy" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: acronomy, asrtonomy, astonomy, astroncomy, astronimy, astronmy, astronome, Astronomia, astronomie, attonomy, aztreonam, castronery, stronomy. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "astronomy" (pronounced ustrÄ"numē) |
| 8 | -s t r Ä" n u m ē | gastronomy. |
| 5 | -Ä" n u m ē | autonomy, economy. |
| 4 | -n u m ē | anomie, Archenemy, enemy. |
| 3 | -u m ē | academy, alchemy, anatomy, appendectomy, blasphemy, dichotomy, epitome, hysterectomies, hysterectomy, infamy, keratotomy, lumpectomy, mastectomy, monogamy, polygamy, prostatectomy, sesame, sodomy, tonsillectomy, vasectomy. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-m-n-o-o-r-s-t-y" | |
-1 letter: stramony. | |
-2 letters: aroynts, maroons, masonry, matrons, ratoons, romanos, transom. | |
-3 letters: aroynt, astony, manors, maroon, matron, mayors, morays, morons, motors, notary, ostomy, ramson, ransom, ratoon, rayons, romano, romans, smarty, snooty, stormy, stroma, tomans, toyons, tronas. | |
-4 letters: amort, anomy, antsy, arson, artsy, atoms, atomy, atony, manor, manos, marts, mason, mayor, mayos, mayst, moans, moats, monas, monos. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-m-n-o-o-r-s-t-y" | |
+1 letter: dynamotors, gastronomy. | |
+2 letters: monocrystal, trypanosome. | |
+3 letters: compensatory, consummatory, monocrystals, stonemasonry, trypanosomes. | |
+4 letters: postembryonal, somatosensory. | |
+5 letters: astronomically, polymerisation. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Quotations: Familiar | 9. Usage Frequency 10. Expressions 11. Expressions: Internet 12. Translations: Modern | 13. Translations: Ancient 14. Derivations 15. Rhymes 16. Anagrams | 17. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
