AstarformingregionintheLarge

MagellanicCloud,anirregular
galaxy.
AgiantHubblemosaicoftheCrab
Nebula,asupernovaremnant
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia
Astronomyisanaturalsciencewhichisthestudyofcelestial
objects(suchasstars,galaxies,planets,moons,andnebulae),the
physics,chemistry,andevolutionofsuchobjects,andphenomena
thatoriginateoutsidetheatmosphereofEarth,including
supernovaeexplosions,gammaraybursts,andcosmic
microwavebackgroundradiation.Arelatedbutdistinctsubject,
cosmology,isconcernedwithstudyingtheuniverseasawhole.
[1]
Astronomyisoneoftheoldestsciences.Prehistoriccultureshave
leftastronomicalartifactssuchastheEgyptianmonumentsand
Nubianmonuments,andearlycivilizationssuchasthe
Babylonians,Greeks,Chinese,Indians,IraniansandMaya
performedmethodicalobservationsofthenightsky.However,
theinventionofthetelescopewasrequiredbeforeastronomy
wasabletodevelopintoamodernscience.Historically,
astronomyhasincludeddisciplinesasdiverseasastrometry,
celestialnavigation,observationalastronomyandthemakingof
calendars,butprofessionalastronomyisnowadaysoften
consideredtobesynonymouswithastrophysics.
[2]
Duringthe20thcentury,thefieldofprofessionalastronomysplit
intoobservationalandtheoreticalbranches.Observational
astronomyisfocusedonacquiringdatafromobservationsof
astronomicalobjects,whichisthenanalyzedusingbasic
principlesofphysics.Theoreticalastronomyisorientedtoward
thedevelopmentofcomputeroranalyticalmodelstodescribe
astronomicalobjectsandphenomena.Thetwofields
complementeachother,withtheoreticalastronomyseekingto
explaintheobservationalresultsandobservationsbeingusedto
confirmtheoreticalresults.
Astronomyisoneofthefewscienceswhereamateurscanstill
playanactiverole,especiallyinthediscoveryandobservationof
transientphenomena.Amateurastronomershavecontributedto
manyimportantastronomicaldiscoveries.
1Etymology
1.1Useofterms"astronomy"and"astrophysics"
2History
2.1Scientificrevolution
3Observationalastronomy
3.1Radioastronomy
3.2Infraredastronomy
AstronomyWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomy
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