Astronomy (Period 7/8)

Course Description

 
Astronomy is the branch of science that deals with celestial objects, space, and the physical universe as a whole.

 

Astronomy is the study of the universe, namely the objects we observe, like the Moon, Sun, and planets in our Solar System; stars; our Milky Way Galaxy, and other galaxies; and, a host of other celestial objects and phenomena, like nebulae, and black holes.

Astronomy is a multidisciplinary science. It is intertwined with the study of physics, chemistry, mathematics, computer science, geology and biology.

Unlike most other fields of science, astronomers are unable to observe a system entirely from birth to death; the lifetime of worlds, stars, and galaxies span millions to billions of years. Instead, astronomers must rely on snapshots of bodies in various stages of evolution to determine how they formed, evolved and died. Thus, theoretical and observational astronomy tend to blend together, as theoretical scientists use the information actually collected to create simulations, while the observations serve to confirm the models — or to indicate the need for tweaking them.

Astronomy is broken down into a number of sub fields, allowing scientists to specialize in particular objects and phenomena.

 

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Posts

The Hunter's Moon is the first full Moon after the Harvest Moon, which is the full Moon nearest the autumnal equinox. (6-inch Celestron refractor at f/8, Canon EOS Rebel XT digital SLR, ISO 100, 1/30-second exposure) Timothy L. Kerr captured this image on October 14, 2008, from Hubert, North Carolina.
 
October’s Full Moon also goes by the name “Hunter’s Moon.” In early autumn, the Full Moon rises about a half-hour later each night compared with a normal lag close to 50 minutes. The added early evening illumination supposedly helps hunters track down their prey.