Astronomy

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This article is about the scientific study of celestial objects. For other uses, see Astronomy
(disambiguation).
Not to be confused with astrology, the pseudoscience.

A giant Hubble mosaic of the Crab Nebula, a supernova remnant

The Milky Way as viewed from La Silla Observatory

Astronomy (from Greek: ἀστρονομία) 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.[1]
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.[2]
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.

Contents

 1Etymology
o 1.1Use of terms "astronomy" and "astrophysics"
 2History
o 2.1Ancient times
o 2.2Middle Ages
o 2.3Scientific revolution
 3Observational astronomy
o 3.1Radio astronomy
o 3.2Infrared astronomy
o 3.3Optical astronomy
o 3.4Ultraviolet astronomy
o 3.5X-ray astronomy
o 3.6Gamma-ray astronomy
o 3.7Fields not based on the electromagnetic spectrum
o 3.8Astrometry and celestial mechanics
 4Theoretical astronomy
 5Specific subfields
o 5.1Astrophysics
o 5.2Astrochemistry
o 5.3Astrobiology
o 5.4Physical cosmology
o 5.5Extragalactic astronomy
o 5.6Galactic astronomy
o 5.7Stellar astronomy
o 5.8Solar astronomy
o 5.9Planetary science
 6Interdisciplinary studies
 7Amateur astronomy
 8Unsolved problems in astronomy
 9See also
 10References
 11Bibliography
 12External links