What is Astronomy?
Astronomy (from Greek: ἀστρονομία literally meaning the science that studies the laws of the stars) is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics physics and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets moons stars nebulae galaxies and comets. Relevant phenomena include supernova explosions gamma ray bursts quasars blazars pulsars and cosmic microwave background radiation. More generally astronomy studies everything that originates outside Earth's atmosphere. Cosmology is a branch of astronomy. It studies the Universe as a whole.

Astronomy is one of the oldest natural sciences. The early civilizations in recorded history made methodical observations of the night sky. These include the Babylonians Greeks Indians Egyptians Chinese Maya and many ancient indigenous peoples of the Americas. In the past astronomy included disciplines as diverse as astrometry celestial navigation observational astronomy and the making of calendars. Nowadays professional astronomy is often said to be the same as astrophysics.

Professional astronomy is split into observational and theoretical branches. Observational astronomy is focused on acquiring data from observations of astronomical objects. This data is then analyzed using basic principles of physics. Theoretical astronomy is oriented toward the development of computer or analytical models to describe astronomical objects and phenomena. These two fields complement each other. Theoretical astronomy seeks to explain observational results and observations are used to confirm theoretical results.

Astronomy is one of the few sciences in which amateurs play an active role. This is especially true for the discovery and observation of transient events. Amateur astronomers have helped with many important discoveries such as finding new comets.
Popular Branches of Astronomy

Being one of the primary fields of science Astronomy encompasses a study of boundless entities hence it has independent fields of study with specific focuses.

Popular Branches of Astronomy

Being one of the primary fields of science Astronomy encompasses a study of boundless entities hence it has independent fields of study with specific focuses. Enlisted below are some of the popular branches of astronomy.

• Astrophysics
• Cosmology
• Spectroscopy
• Photometry
• Heliophysics
• Helioseismology
• Asteroseismology
• Astrometry
• Planetology
• Exoplanetology
• Astrogeology
• Areology
• Selenography
• Exogeology
• Astrobiology
• Exobiology
• Astrochemistry

Astronomy Dictionary Features :

► Bookmark Favorite Words
► Completely offline and free
► Night mode / Dark mode support
► Change text size and fonts in settings
► Thousands of Astronomy Words and Terms
► Alphabetical listing
► Quick search option
► Easy to use user interface
► Text to speech option available
► Regular Updates
► Word of the Day notification


Write us at [email protected] for suggestions and feedback for improvements.