Portal:Astronomy

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The Astronomy Portal

Introduction

Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. 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. More generally, astronomy studies everything that originates beyond Earth's atmosphere. Cosmology is a branch of astronomy that studies the universe as a whole.

Astronomy is one of the oldest natural sciences. 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. In the past, astronomy included disciplines as diverse as astrometry, celestial navigation, observational astronomy, and the making of calendars.

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. (Full article...)

General images - load new batch

The following are images from various astronomy-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Sir Patrick Moore was one of the world's leading popularisers of astronomy. (from Amateur astronomy)
Image 2One of the Oldest Observatories in South America is the Quito Astronomical Observatory, founded in 1873 and located 12 minutes south of the Equator in Quito, Ecuador. The Quito Astronomical Observatory is the National Observatory of Ecuador and is located in the Historic Center of Quito and is managed by the National Polytechnic School. (from Observational astronomy)
Image 3Sunset at the equinox from the prehistoric site of Pizzo Vento at Fondachelli Fantina, Sicily (from History of astronomy)
Image 4Portrait of the Flemish astronomer Ferdinand Verbiest who became Head of the Mathematical Board and Director of the Observatory of the Chinese emperor in 1669 (from Astronomer)
Image 5Amateur astronomy groups are often involved in outreach in order to introduce astronomy to the general public (from Amateur astronomy)
Image 69th-century diagram of the positions of the seven planets on 18 March 816, from the Leiden Aratea (from History of astronomy)
Image 7Arabic astrolabe from 1079 to 1080 AD (from History of astronomy)
$Image 850 cm refracting telescope at Nice Observatory (from Observational astronomy)$

Image 850 cm refracting telescope at Nice Observatory (from Observational astronomy)
Image 9Mayall telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory (from Observational astronomy)
Image 10The Northern Hemisphere page from Johann Bayer's 1661 edition of Uranometria - the first atlas to have star charts covering the entire celestial sphere (from History of astronomy)
Image 11Map of the Milky Way Galaxy, with the constellations that cross the galactic plane in each direction and the known prominent components annotated including main arms, spurs, bar, nucleus/bulge, notable nebulae and globular clusters (from History of astronomy)
Image 12The Crab Nebula as seen in various wavelengths (from Observational astronomy)
Image 13Overview of types of observational astronomy by observed wavelengths and their observability. (from Observational astronomy)
Image 14History of the Universe – gravitational waves are hypothesized to arise from cosmic inflation, a rapidly accelerated expansion just after the Big Bang (from Physical cosmology)
Image 15Historical accuracy of atomic clocks from NIST. (from Theoretical astronomy)
Image 16The Hubble Space Telescope (from History of astronomy)
Image 17Ultra HD photography taken at La Silla Observatory (from Observational astronomy)
Image 18Places like Paranal Observatory offer crystal clear skies for observing astronomical objects with or without instruments. (from Amateur astronomy)
Image 19Southern Hemisphere (from History of astronomy)
Image 20An amateur astrophotography setup with an automated guide system connected to a laptop (from Observational astronomy)
Image 21Calendrical functions of the Berlin Gold Hat c. 1000 BC (from History of astronomy)
Image 22The Antikythera Mechanism was an analog computer from 150 to 100 BC designed to calculate the positions of astronomical objects. (from History of astronomy)
Image 23The Nebra sky disk, Germany, 1800 - 1600 BC (from History of astronomy)
Image 24The main platform at La Silla hosts a huge range of telescopes with which astronomers can explore the Universe. (from Observational astronomy)
Image 25Artist conception of the Big Bang cosmological model, the most widely accepted out of all in physical cosmology (neither time nor size to scale) (from Physical cosmology)
Image 26Segment of the astronomical ceiling of Senenmut's Tomb (circa 1479–1458 BCE), depicting constellations, protective deities, and twenty-four segmented wheels for the hours of the day and the months of the year (from History of astronomy)
Image 27Babylonian tablet in the British Museum recording Halley's comet in 164 BC (from History of astronomy)
Image 28A voting session is conducted in 2006 International Astronomical Union's general assembly for determining a new definition of a planet (from Astronomer)
Image 29ALMA is the world's most powerful telescope for studying the Universe at submillimeter and millimeter wavelengths. (from Observational astronomy)
Image 30Amateur astronomer recording observations of the sun. (from Amateur astronomy)
Image 31"El Caracol" observatory temple at Chichen Itza, Mexico (from History of astronomy)
Image 32An image of the Cat's Paw Nebula created combining the work of professional and amateur astronomers. The image is the combination of the 2.2-metre MPG/ESO telescope of the La Silla Observatory in Chile and a 0.4-meter amateur telescope. (from Amateur astronomy)
Image 33Comparison of CMB (Cosmic microwave background) results from satellites COBE, WMAP and Planck documenting a progress in 1989–2013 (from History of astronomy)
Image 34Historical Jantar Mantar observatory in Jaipur, India (from History of astronomy)
Image 35The Oort cloud, one of the most successful theoretical model about the Solar System (from Theoretical astronomy)
Image 36An assembly in Estonia to observe meteors (from Observational astronomy)

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Featured article - show another

This is a Featured article, which represents some of the best content on English Wikipedia.

The rings of Uranus are intermediate in complexity between the more extensive set around Saturn and the simpler systems around Jupiter and Neptune. The rings of Uranus were discovered on March 10, 1977, by James L. Elliot, Edward W. Dunham, and Jessica Mink. William Herschel had also reported observing rings in 1789; modern astronomers are divided on whether he could have seen them, as they are very dark and faint.

By 1977, nine distinct rings were identified. Two additional rings were discovered in 1986 in images taken by the Voyager 2 spacecraft, and two outer rings were found in 2003–2005 in Hubble Space Telescope photos. In the order of increasing distance from the planet the 13 known rings are designated 1986U2R/ζ, 6, 5, 4, α, β, η, γ, δ, λ, ε, ν and μ. Their radii range from about 38,000 km for the 1986U2R/ζ ring to about 98,000 km for the μ ring. Additional faint dust bands and incomplete arcs may exist between the main rings. The rings are extremely dark—the Bond albedo of the rings' particles does not exceed 2%. They are probably composed of water ice with the addition of some dark radiation-processed organics. (Full article...)

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Did you know - show different entries

... that Caroline Moore was 14 years old when she discovered supernova 2008ha?
... that although Charles Messier discovered the galaxy M91 in 1781, it was added to his catalogue only two centuries later?
... that the fall of the Neuschwanstein meteorite in 2002 was observed by the European Fireball Network and outdoor witnesses through most of Central Europe?
... that AG Pegasi has been described as the slowest nova ever recorded?

More Did you know (auto generated)

... that Michael Collins has been called "one of the best clarinettists walking the planet" by The Times?
... that examples of artificial planets in science fiction include Riverworld, the Well World, and the Death Star?
... that the star TRAPPIST-1 has seven planets, several of which may have temperatures that would allow the existence of liquid water (artist's impression depicted)?
... that fictional depictions of Jupiter have portrayed human habitation on the planet and its moons both by altering the environment to suit humans and altering humans to be suited to the environment?
... that in many works of fiction, the asteroid belt is the remnants of a destroyed planet?
... that the active galaxy 3C 120 was given the variable-star designation BW Tauri because of its variability in the visible spectrum?

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WikiProjects

WikiProject Astronomy	WikiProject Solar System



WikiProject Cosmology	WikiProject Spaceflight

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A radio-quiet neutron star is a neutron star that does not seem to emit radio emissions, but is still visible to Earth through electromagnetic radiation at other parts of the spectrum, particularly X-rays and gamma rays. Artist's illustration of an 'isolated neutron star' -- one without associated supernova remnants or binary companions.

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Astronomy News

20 February 2024 –: Astronomers identify the most luminous object ever observed, QSO J0529-4351, a quasar that accretes around one solar mass per day. (The Guardian) (Nature.com)

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June anniversaries

2 June 1966 – Surveyor 1 lands on the moon, first US spacecraft to do so
3 June 1966 – Gemini 9 (Gemini Titan 9A) launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida
19 June 1976 – The Viking 1 orbiter arrives in Mars orbit
24 June 2004 – First private spaceflight, SpaceShipOne piloted by Mike Melvill
27 June 1996 – Galileo probe, flyby of Ganymede (Jupiter's largest moon)
30 June 2001 – The NASA Explorer mission, MAP (Microwave Anisotropy Probe), is launched to measure the temperature of cosmic background radiation (remnant heat from the Big Bang)