Astronomy portal

Astronomy (Greek: αστρονομία = άστρον + νόμος, astronomia = astron + nomos, literally "law of the stars") is the study of the evolution and physical and chemical properties of celestial objects. Astronomical observations are not only relevant for astronomy as such, but provide essential information for the verification of fundamental theories in physics, such as the general relativity theory. Complementary to observational astronomy, theoretical astrophysics seeks to explain astronomical phenomena.

Article of the month

Portal:Astronomy/Featured/August 2008

Did you know

...that Zeeman-Doppler imaging is a technique used to map the surface magnetic field of stars?

...that Astronomische Nachrichten, founded by H. C. Schumacher in 1821, is the world's oldest extant astronomical journal?

...that the Stingray Nebula, thought to have formed around 1987, is the youngest known planetary nebula?

...that the Mark II radio telescope built in 1964 at Jodrell Bank Observatory, UK was the first ever telescope to be controlled by a digital computer?

...that Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 passed within Jupiter's Roche limit in 1992, causing it to break up into smaller pieces two years before it collided with the planet?

...that the Kaidun meteorite fell on March 12, 1980 on a Soviet military base in Yemen and may be from Phobos?

...that Pluto is now considered the largest member of the Kuiper belt after its retirement as the 9th planet?

Categories

Astronomy : Archaeoastronomy - Astrophysics - Calendars - Catalogues - Celestial coordinate system - Celestial mechanics - Cosmology - Images - Large-scale structure of the cosmos - Observatories - Planetary science - Telescopes

Biographies : Astronomers - Other people

Astronomical objects : Lists - Galaxies - Nebulae - Planets - Stars

Space exploration : Human spaceflight - Satellites - SETI - Spacecraft

Projects

• Space
• Astronomy
• Astronomical objects

Space-related Portals

Picture of the week

In commemoration of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope completing its 100,000th orbit in its 18th year of exploration and discovery, scientists at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore,Md., have aimed Hubble to take a snapshot of a dazzling region of celestial birth and renewal.

Hubble peered into a small portion of the nebula near the star cluster NGC 2074 (upper, left). The region is a firestorm of raw stellar creation, perhaps triggered by a nearby supernova explosion. It lies about 170,000 light-years away near the Tarantula Nebula, one of the most active star-forming regions in our Local Group of galaxies.

The region is in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite of our Milky Way galaxy.

This representative color image was taken on August 10, 2008, with Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2. Red shows emission from sulfur atoms, green from glowing hydrogen, and blue from glowing oxygen.

Astronomy News

• 21 May 2008: SN 2008D is first supernova seen exploding.
• 2 February 2008: NASA to Beam Beatles Song into Deep Space
• 14 January 2008: NASA Spacecraft to Begin Collecting Data on Mercury
• 8 January 2008: Sun begins Solar Cycle 24
• 28 December 2007: Astronomers say asteroid could hit Mars
• 13 December 2007: Saturn's rings are much older than previously thought
• 2 December 2007: Venus was once more Earth-like than previously thought
• 27 October 2007: Unexpected comet 'outburst' could be visible for weeks

More astronomy news from Wikinews…

Astronomical events in August 2008

All times UT unless otherwise specified.

Things you can do

Wikibooks

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

Wikijunior

• Solar System