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Astronomy is the science
of celestial objects (stars, planets,
comets,
and galaxies)
and phenomena
that originate outside the Earth's
atmosphere (e.g., auroras
and cosmic
background radiation). It is concerned with the evolution, physics,
chemistry,
meteorology,and
motion
of celestial objects, as well as the formation
and development of the universe. |
Astronomy is one of the oldest sciences. Astronomers of early
civilizations performed methodical observations of the night sky,
and astronomical artifacts have been found from much earlier
periods. However, it required the invention of the telescope
before astronomy developed into a modern science.
Since the 20th century, the field of professional astronomy has
split into observational
astronomy and theoretical
astrophysics. Observational astronomy is concerned with
acquiring data, which involves building and maintaining
instruments, as well as processing the results. Theoretical
astrophysics is concerned with ascertaining the observational
implications of computer or analytic models. The two fields
complement each other, with theoretical astronomy seeking to
explain the observational results. Astronomical observations can
be used to test fundamental theories in physics, such as general
relativity.
Historically, amateur
astronomers have contributed to many important astronomical
discoveries, and astronomy is one of the few sciences where
amateurs can still play an active role, especially in the
discovery and observation of transient phenomena.
Astronomy -
Wikipedia
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