astronomer

[ uh-stron-uh-mer ]

noun

1. an expert in astronomy; a scientific observer of the celestial bodies.

Word History and Origins

Origin of astronomer¹

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English; astronomy, -er ¹

Example Sentences

Indeed, Jefferson deemed the African-American poet Phillis Wheatley’s work “beneath the dignity of criticism” and asserted that Black astronomer Benjamin Banneker possessed only “a mind of very common stature.”

From Salon

Dr. Matthew N. Murphy, lead author of the Nature Astronomy study and an astronomer at the University of Arizona's Steward Observatory, told Salon that the new findings help astronomers better understand not only this weird distant world, but our own home.

From Salon

The most important thing you'll need to know where to look and have a good view of the horizon, according to Nick Moscowitz, an astronomer at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona.

From Salon

Dr Jennifer Millard, astronomer and host of the Awesome Astronomy podcast, told the BBC's Today programme that the asteroid would enter orbit on the 29th of September and then was predicted to leave on 25 November.

From BBC

"Even though everyone was expecting black holes to starve galaxies by heating or removing gas, measurements showed that the amount of gas we could see being removed was simply not enough," Francesco D'Eugenio, an astronomer at the University of Cambridge's Kavli Institute for Cosmology, told Salon.

From Salon

Related Words

• astrophysicist
• cosmologist