astronomy

American  

[uh-stron-uh-mee] / əˈstrɒn ə mi /

noun

1. the science that deals with the material universe beyond the earth's atmosphere.

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astronomy British  

/ əˈstrɒnəmɪ /

noun

1. the scientific study of the individual celestial bodies (excluding the earth) and of the universe as a whole. Its various branches include astrometry, astrodynamics, cosmology, and astrophysics

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astronomy Scientific  

/ ə-strŏn′ə-mē /

1. The scientific study of the universe and the objects in it, including stars, planets, nebulae, and galaxies. Astronomy deals with the position, size, motion, composition, energy, and evolution of celestial objects. Astronomers analyze not only visible light but also radio waves, x-rays, and other ranges of radiation that come from sources outside the Earth's atmosphere.

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astronomy Cultural  

1. The science that deals with the universe beyond the Earth. It describes the nature, position, and motion of the stars, planets, and other objects in the skies, and their relation to the Earth.

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Etymology

Origin of astronomy

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English astronomie, from Anglo-French, from Latin astronomia, from Greek; equivalent to astro- + -nomy

Compare meaning

How does astronomy compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• astronomy vs. astrology

Example Sentences

In astronomy, calling something "very red" means the object emits most of its light at long wavelengths.

From Science Daily

Dark matter has remained one of astronomy's biggest unknowns since it was first suggested.

From Science Daily

"We have found so many exoplanets at this point that discovering a new one is not such a big deal," said co-author Paul Robertson, UC Irvine associate professor of physics & astronomy.

From Science Daily

"Fugaku is used for research in a wide range of computational science fields, such as astronomy, meteorology, and drug discovery, contributing to the resolution of many societal problems," said Yamazaki.

From Science Daily

"We're realizing that many stars near the Sun are part of massive extended stellar families with complex structures," said Andrew Mann, co-author and professor of physics and astronomy at UNC-Chapel Hill.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• astrophysics