Outline of astronomy

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to astronomy:

Astronomy – studies the universe beyond Earth, including its formation and development, and the evolution, physics, chemistry, meteorology, and motion of celestial objects (such as galaxies, planets, etc.) and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth (such as the cosmic background radiation).

Nature of astronomy

Astronomy can be described as all of the following:

• An academic discipline: one with academic departments, curricula and degrees; national and international societies; and specialized journals.
• A scientific field (a branch of science) – widely-recognized category of specialized expertise within science, and typically embodies its own terminology and nomenclature. Such a field will usually be represented by one or more scientific journals, where peer reviewed research is published.
  • A natural science – one that seeks to elucidate the rules that govern the natural world using empirical and scientific methods.
    • A branch or field of space science

Branches of astronomy

• Astrobiology – studies the advent and evolution of biological systems in the universe.
• Astrophysics – branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties of celestial objects, as well as their interactions and behavior.^[1] Among the objects studied are galaxies, stars, planets, exoplanets, the interstellar medium and the cosmic microwave background; and the properties examined include luminosity, density, temperature, and chemical composition. The subdisciplines of theoretical astrophysics are:
  • Compact objects – this subdiscipline studies very dense matter in white dwarfs and neutron stars and their effects on environments including accretion.
  • Physical cosmology – origin and evolution of the universe as a whole. The study of cosmology is theoretical astrophysics at its largest scale.
  • Galactic astronomy – deals with the structure and components of our galaxy and of other galaxies.
  • High energy astrophysics – studies phenomena occurring at high energies including active galactic nuclei, supernovae, gamma-ray bursts, quasars, and shocks.
  • Interstellar astrophysics – study of the interstellar medium, intergalactic medium and dust.
  • Extragalactic astronomy – study of objects (mainly galaxies) outside our galaxy, including Galaxy formation and evolution.
  • Stellar astronomy – concerned with Star formation, physical properties, main sequence life span, variability, stellar evolution and extinction.
  • Plasma astrophysics – studies properties of plasma in outer space.
  • Relativistic astrophysics – studies effects of special relativity and general relativity in astrophysical contexts including gravitational waves, gravitational lensing and black holes.
  • Solar physics – Sun and its interaction with the remainder of the Solar System and interstellar space.
• Planetary Science – study of the planets of the Solar System.
  • Atmospheric science – study of atmospheres and weather.
  • Exoplanetology – various planets outside of the Solar System
  • Planetary formation – formation of planets and moons in the context of the formation and evolution of the Solar System.
  • Planetary rings – dynamics, stability, and composition of planetary rings
  • Magnetospheres – magnetic fields of planets and moons
  • Planetary surfaces – surface geology of planets and moons
  • Planetary interiors – interior composition of planets and moons
  • Small Solar System bodies – smallest gravitationally bound bodies, including asteroids, comets, and Kuiper belt objects.

The subdisciplines of observational astronomy are generally made by the specifications of the detectors:

• Radio astronomy – Above 300 µm
• Submillimetre astronomy – 200 µm to 1 mm
• Infrared astronomy – 0.7–350 µm
• Optical astronomy – 380–750 nm
• Ultraviolet astronomy – 10–320 nm
• X-ray astronomy – 0.01–10 nm
• Gamma-ray astronomy – Below 0.01 nm
• Cosmic ray astronomy – Cosmic rays, including plasma
• Neutrino astronomy – Neutrinos
• Gravitational wave astronomy – Gravitons

General techniques for astronomical research are also convenient ways of dividing the field:

• Photometry – study of how bright celestial objects are when passed through different filters
• Spectroscopy – study of the spectra of astronomical objects
• Astrometry – study of the position of objects in the sky and their changes of position. Defines the system of coordinates used and the kinematics of objects in our galaxy.

Other disciplines that may be considered part of astronomy:

• Archaeoastronomy
• Astrochemistry

History of astronomy

Basic astronomical phenomena

Instruments, measurement and units

Astronomical objects

Astronomical object

Solar system

• Solar System
• Geology of solar terrestrial planets
• List of solar system objects
  • List of solar system objects by size

• Galilean satellites
• Halley's comet

Sun

Planets

Small solar system bodies

Extrasolar planets

• Extrasolar planet – planet outside the Solar System. A total of 899 such planets (in 698 planetary systems, including 133 multiple planetary systems) have been identified as of 27 June 2013.
  • Super-Earth –

Stars and stellar objects

Stars

Variable stars

Supernovae

Black holes

Constellations

• Constellation

The 88 modern constellations

Constellation history

The 48 constellations listed by Ptolemy after 150 AD

The 41 additional constellations added in the 16th and 17th centuries

Obsolete constellations including Ptolemy's Argo Navis

Clusters and nebulae

v t e Stellar systems Bound Galaxy Dwarf galaxy Star cluster Globular cluster Open cluster Star system Binary star Planetary system Unbound Stellar stream Stellar association Moving group Runaway star Hypervelocity star Visual grouping Double star Multiple star Constellation Asterism

Galaxies

• Galaxy
• Andromeda Galaxy
• Magellanic Clouds
• Quasar

v t e The Milky Way Location Milky Way→Milky Way subgroup → Local Group → Virgo Supercluster → Pisces–Cetus Supercluster Complex → Observable universe → Universe Each arrow (→) may be read as "within" or "part of". Galactic core Center of the Milky Way Sagittarius A Sagittarius A* Supermassive black hole Spiral arms Carina–Sagittarius Norma–Cygnus Orion–Cygnus Perseus Scutum–Centaurus Satellite galaxies Magellanic Clouds Large Magellanic Cloud Small Magellanic Cloud Magellanic Stream Magellanic Bridge Sagittarius Elliptical Sagittarius Stream Boötes II Coma Berenices Messier 54 Palomar 12 Segue 1 Segue 2 Terzan 7 Dwarfs Boötes I Boötes III Canes Venatici I Canes Venatici II Canis Major Carina Draco Fornax Hercules Leo I Leo II Leo IV Leo V Phoenix Pisces I Pisces II Sculptor Sextans Ursa Major I Ursa Major II Ursa Minor Other Monoceros Ring Virgo Stream Koposov I Koposov II Segue 3 Willman 1 Astronomy portal

v t e Galaxies Morphology Disc galaxy Dwarf galaxy elliptical irregular spheroidal spiral Elliptical galaxy Irregular galaxy barred Lenticular galaxy barred unbarred Ring galaxy Polar Spiral galaxy barred flocculent grand design intermediate Magellanic unbarred cD-galaxy Structure Bar Bulge Dark matter halo Disc Galactic halo corona Galactic plane Interstellar medium Protogalaxy Spiral arm Supermassive black hole Active nuclei Blazar LINER Quasar Radio galaxy X-shaped Relativistic jet Seyfert galaxy Energetic galaxies LAE LIRG Starburst galaxy BCD Pea Interaction Field galaxy Galactic tide Galaxy groups and clusters brightest cluster galaxy fossil group Interacting galaxy merger Satellite galaxy Stellar stream Superclusters Walls Void galaxy Voids and supervoids Lists Groups and clusters Large quasar groups Nearest galaxies Polar-ring galaxies Ring galaxies Quasars Spiral galaxies Superclusters Voids See also Dark galaxy Faint blue galaxy Galaxy formation and evolution Intergalactic dust Intergalactic stars Intergalactic travel Book:Galaxies Category:Galaxies Portal:Astronomy

Cosmology

v t e Cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB) Discovery of CMB radiation Timeline of CMB astronomy Effects Cosmic variance Diffusion damping Sachs–Wolfe effect Sunyaev–Zel'dovich effect Recombination Thomson scattering 9-year WMAP image (2012) of the CMB. Experiments Space-based COBE CMBPol Planck RELIKT-1 SPOrt WMAP Balloon Archeops ARCADE BOOMERanG EBEX MAXIMA QMAP Spider TopHat Ground-based ABS ACBAR ACT AMI AMiBA APEX APEX-SZ ATCA BICEP BICEP2 BIMA CAPMAP CAT CBI Clover COSMOSOMAS DASI FOCUS GUBBINS Keck Array MAT OCRA OVRO POLARBEAR QUaD QUBIC QUIET QUIJOTE RGWBT Saskatoon SPT SZA Tenerife VSA

Space exploration

See: Outline of space exploration

Organizations

Public sector space agencies

Africa

North Africa

•  Algerian Space Agency
•  National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences
• Egypt Remote Sensing Center
•  Royal Centre for Remote Sensing
•  National Remote Sensing Center

Sub-Saharan

•  National Space Research and Development Agency
•  South African National Space Agency

Americas

North America

•  Canadian Space Agency
•  Agencia Espacial Mexicana
•  United States Department of Defense (Air Force Space Command
• National Reconnaissance Office
• United States Army Space and Missile Defense Command
• Transformational Communications Office
• United States Strategic Command)
• NASA

South America

•  Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales
•  Brazilian Space Agency
• Brazilian General Command for Aerospace Technology
• National Institute for Space Research
• Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica
•  Agencia Chilena del Espacio
•  Colombian Space Commission
•  National Commission for Aerospace Research & Development
•  Aeronautics & Space Research and Diffusion Center
•  Agencia Bolivariana para Actividades Espaciales
• Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas

Asia

East Asia

•  China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology
• China Academy of Space Technology
• China Chang Feng
• China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation
• Commission for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense)
• China National Space Administration
•  Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Institute of Space and Astronautical Science
• National Aerospace Laboratory of Japan
• National Space Development Agency of Japan)
• National Institute of Information and Communications Technology
• Institute for Unmanned Space Experiment Free Flyer
•  National Remote Sensing Center
•  Korean Committee of Space Technology
•  Korea Aerospace Research Institute
•  National Space Organization

Southeast Asia

•  National Institute of Aeronautics and Space
•  Malaysian National Space Agency
•  Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration
•  Thai Ministry of Science and Technology's Space Agency
•  Space Technology Institute
• Vietnam Space Commission

South Asia

•  Space Research and Remote Sensing Organization
•  Indian Space Research Organisation (Antrix Corporation
• Department of Space)
•  Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission
•  Sri Lanka Aeronautics and Space Agency

Southwest Asia

•  Azerbaijan National Aerospace Agency¹
•  Iran Aviation Industries Organization
• Iranian Space Agency
•  Israel Space Agency
• National Committee for Space Research
•  TÜBİTAK UZAY

Central Asia

•  KazCosmos
• Kazakh Space Research Institute¹
•  Turkmenistan National Space Agency¹
•  UzbekCosmos¹

Europe

•  Austrian Space Agency
•  Belarus Space Agency¹
•  Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy
•  Bulgarian Space Agency
•  Czech Space Office
•  Danish National Space Center
• esa European Cooperation for Space Standardization
• European Space Agency
•  EUMETSAT
• European Union Satellite Centre
•  CNES
•  German Aerospace Center
•  Institute for Space Applications and Remote Sensing
•  Hungarian Space Office
•  Space Ireland
•  Italian Space Agency
•  Space Science and Technology Institute¹
•  Luxinnovation
•  Netherlands Institute for Space Research
•  Norwegian Space Centre
•  Space Research Centre
•  Portuguese Space Company
•  Romanian Space Agency
•  Russian Federal Space Agency¹
• Russian Space Research Institute¹
• Russian Space Forces
•  Soviet space program
•  Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial
•  Swedish National Space Board
•  Swiss Space Office
•  UK Space Agency
•  State Space Agency of Ukraine¹

Oceania

•  Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation

World

• Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization
• Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems
• Committee on Space Research
• International Academy of Astronautics
• International Telecommunications Satellite Organization
• Intercosmos
• Intersputnik
•  Pan-Arab Space Agency
•  United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space
• United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs

¹ Preceded by the Soviet space program

Books and publications

Astronomers

See also

References

External links

Find more about Astronomy at Wikipedia's sister projects
	Definitions and translations from Wiktionary
	Media from Commons
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• Astronomy Guide For reviews on astronomy products, how-to's and current events.
• Astronomy Net Resources, forums (from 1995), articles on Astronomy.
• International Year of Astronomy 2009 IYA2009 Main website
• Cosmic Journey: A History of Scientific Cosmology from the American Institute of Physics
• Astronomy Picture of the Day
• Southern Hemisphere Astronomy
• Sky & Telescope publishers
• Astronomy Magazine
• Latest astronomy news in 11 languages
• Universe Today for astronomy and space-related news
• Celestia Motherlode Educational site for Astronomical journeys through space
• Search Engine for Astronomy
• Hubblesite.org - home of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope
• Astronomy - A History - G. Forbes - 1909 (eLibrary Project - eLib Text)
• (historical)
• Prof. Sir Harry Kroto, NL, Astrophysical Chemistry Lecture Series. 8 Freeview Lectures provided by the Vega Science Trust.
• Core books and core journals in Astronomy, from the Smithsonian/NASA Astrophysics Data System

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