"Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena."
Fundamental concepts, theories, and observational techniques used in studying celestial objects and phenomena such as stars, galaxies, supernovae, black holes, and cosmic rays.
Celestial Mechanics: The study of the motion and gravitational forces that affect celestial objects.
Solar System: The study of objects in the solar system such as planets, asteroids, comets, meteors, and the sun.
Stellar Evolution: The study of how stars form, evolve, and eventually die.
Galaxies: The study of galaxies, their structure, evolution, and the objects they contain such as black holes, neutron stars, and pulsars.
Cosmology: The study of the universe's overall structure, formation, and evolution.
Instrumentation: The use and design of instruments for observing and measuring astronomical phenomena.
Electromagnetic radiation: The study of the properties of light and other electromagnetic radiation and how they are used to learn about the universe.
Data analysis and statistics: The use of statistical methods to analyze and interpret astronomical data.
Astrobiology: The study of the origin, evolution, and distribution of life in the universe.
Exoplanets: The study of planets outside the solar system.
Radio astronomy: The study of radio waves from astronomical sources.
Gravitational waves: The study of ripples in spacetime and their detection.
Dark matter and dark energy: The study of unobservable matter and energy that is believed to exist in the universe.
Astrometry: The measurement of the positions and motions of celestial objects.
Astronomical imaging: The use of imaging technology to visually capture and analyze astronomical phenomena.
Planetary astronomy: The study of planets, moons, asteroids, and other bodies within our solar system and beyond.
Stellar astronomy: The study of stars, including their structure, evolution, and behavior.
Galactic astronomy: Focused on the study of our Milky Way galaxy, including its structure, evolution, and interactions with other galaxies.
Extragalactic astronomy: The investigation of phenomena outside of our Milky Way galaxy, including the study of other galaxies, quasars, and other extragalactic objects.
Cosmology: The study of the origin, evolution, structure, and eventual fate of the universe as a whole.
Astrobiology: The study of the origin, evolution, and distribution of life within the universe, including the search for extraterrestrial life.
High-energy astrophysics: The study of high-energy phenomena, including black holes, gamma-ray bursts, and other extreme events in the universe.
Gravitational astrophysics: The study of gravitational waves and their implications for our understanding of the universe.
Astrochemistry: The study of the chemical elements and compounds that exist in space, including the formation and evolution of molecules in interstellar and circumstellar environments.
Astrometry: The measurement of positions, distances, and motions of celestial objects.
Astroinformatics: The application of computer science, statistics, and information science to astronomical research.
"In the past, astronomy included disciplines as diverse as astrometry, celestial navigation, observational astronomy, and the making of calendars."
"Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, galaxies, meteoroids, asteroids, and comets."
"Relevant phenomena include supernova explosions, gamma ray bursts, quasars, blazars, pulsars, and cosmic microwave background radiation."
"Cosmology is a branch of astronomy that studies the universe as a whole."
"The early civilizations in recorded history made methodical observations of the night sky. These include the Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks, Indians, Chinese, Maya, and many ancient indigenous peoples of the Americas."
"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."
...such as finding new comets.
"It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution."
"Amateur astronomers have helped with many important discoveries, such as finding new comets."
"More generally, astronomy studies everything that originates beyond Earth's atmosphere."
"Cosmology is a branch of astronomy that studies the universe as a whole."
"These include the Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks, Indians, Chinese, Maya, and many ancient indigenous peoples of the Americas."
"Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, galaxies, meteoroids, asteroids, and comets."
"Relevant phenomena include supernova explosions, gamma ray bursts, quasars, blazars, pulsars, and cosmic microwave background radiation."