Portal:Astronomy
Wikipedia portal for content related to Astronomy / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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 batchThe following are images from various astronomy-related articles on Wikipedia.
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Credit: ESO / L. Calçada |
GG Tauri, often abbreviated as GG Tau, is a quadruple or quintuple star system in the constellation Taurus at a distance of about 450 light years (140 parsecs) away. Image is an artist's impression of the disk surrounding GG Tauri A and B.
Astronomy News
- 15 July 2024 – Mare Tranquillitatis pit
- In the journal Nature Astronomy, American and Italian scientists announce the discovery of a lunar cave, approximately 250 miles (400 km) from the landing site of Apollo 11. (AP) (Nature Astronomy)
- 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)
July anniversaries
- 1 July 2004 – The Cassini spacecraft arrives at Saturn after entering orbit
- 4 July 1997 – Mars Pathfinder and its rover, Sojourner, land on Mars, with the latter becoming the first rover to successfully travel the planet
- 5 July 1687 – Sir Isaac Newton's Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, which formulated the laws of motion and universal gravitation and applied them to celestial bodes, is first published
- 13 July 2007 – Gran Telescopio Canarias undergoes first light, becoming the largest telescope in the world
- 20 July 1969 – As part of the Apollo 11 mission, Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become the first men to walk on the Moon
- 20 July 1976 – Viking 1 becomes the first spacecraft to successfully land on Mars and perform its mission
- 26 July 1971 – Apollo 15 launches with lunar rover payload
Space-related Portals
Astronomical events
All times UT unless otherwise specified.
5 July, 05:59 | Earth at aphelion |
5 July, 22:57 | New moon |
12 July, 08:12 | Moon at apogee |
21 July, 10:17 | Full moon |
22 July, 06:59 | Mercury at greatest eastern elongation |
24 July, 05:43 | Moon at perigee |
24 July, 20:47 | Moon occults Saturn |
25 July, 15:01 | Moon occults Neptune |
27 July, 21:44 | Southern Delta Aquariids peak |
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Wikibooks
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These books may be in various stages of development. See also the related Science and Mathematics bookshelves.
- Astronomy
- GAT: A Glossary of Astronomical Terms
- Introduction to Astrophysics
- General relativity
- Observing the Sky from 30°S
- Observing the Sky from 40°N
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