Portal:Astronomy

Portal maintenance status:(February 2019)

This portal ismanuallymaintained byMarshallsumter. Please contact these user(s) when you plan to make significant changes.
This portal'ssubpageshave been checked by an editor, and are needed.

Pleasetake care when editing, especially if usingautomated editing software, and seekconsensus before making major changes. Learn how toupdate the maintenance information here.

Wikipedia portal for content related to Astronomy

Portal topics - (Random portal)

The AstronomyPortal

edit

Introduction

A man sitting on a chair mounted to a moving platform, staring through a large telescope. — Percival Lowell observing Venus from the Lowell Observatory telescope in 1914

Astronomy is anatural science that studiescelestial objects and thephenomena that occur in the cosmos. It usesmathematics,physics, andchemistry in order to explain their origin and their overallevolution. Objects of interest includeplanets,moons,stars,nebulae,galaxies,meteoroids,asteroids, andcomets. Relevant phenomena includesupernova explosions,gamma ray bursts,quasars,blazars,pulsars, andcosmic microwave background radiation. More generally, astronomy studies everything that originates beyondEarth's atmosphere.Cosmology is a branch of astronomy that studies theuniverse as a whole.

Astronomy is one of the oldest natural sciences. The early civilizations inrecorded history made methodical observations of thenight sky. These include theEgyptians,Babylonians,Greeks,Indians,Chinese,Maya, and many ancientindigenous peoples of the Americas. In the past, astronomy included disciplines as diverse asastrometry,celestial navigation,observational astronomy, and the making ofcalendars.

Professional astronomy is split intoobservational andtheoretical 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 anactive role. This is especially true for the discovery and observation oftransient events.Amateur astronomers have helped with many important discoveries, such as finding new comets. (Full article...)

General images -load new batch

The following are images from various astronomy-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Artist conception of theBig Bang cosmological model, the most widely accepted out of all in physical cosmology (neither time nor size to scale) (fromPhysical cosmology)
Image 2Places likeParanal Observatory offer crystal clear skies for observing astronomical objects with or without instruments. (fromAmateur astronomy)
Image 3"El Caracol" observatory temple atChichen Itza,Mexico (fromHistory of astronomy)
Image 4The main platform atLa Silla hosts a huge range of telescopes with which astronomers can explore the Universe. (fromObservational astronomy)
Image 5Portrait of the Flemish astronomerFerdinand Verbiest who became head of the Mathematical Board and director of the Observatory of the Chinese emperor in 1669 (fromAstronomer)
Image 6A voting session is conducted in 2006International Astronomical Union's general assembly for determining anew definition of a planet (fromAstronomer)
Image 7Mayall telescope atKitt Peak National Observatory (fromObservational astronomy)
Image 8Southern Hemisphere (fromHistory of astronomy)
Image 9An example of a gravitational lens found in the DESI Legacy Surveys data. There are four sets of lensed images in DESI-090.9854-35.9683, corresponding to four distinct background galaxies—from the outermost giant red arc to the innermost bright blue arc, arranged in four concentric circles. All of them are gravitationally warped—or lensed—by the orange galaxy at the very center. Dark matter is expected to produce gravitational lensing also. (fromPhysical cosmology)
Image 10TheNebra sky disk, Germany, 1800–1600 BC (fromHistory of astronomy)
Image 11Amateur astronomy groups are often involved in outreach to introduce astronomy to the general public (fromAmateur astronomy)
Image 12Map of theMilky Way Galaxy, with theconstellations that cross thegalactic plane in each direction and the known prominent components annotated includingmain arms, spurs, bar,nucleus/bulge, notablenebulae andglobular clusters (fromHistory of astronomy)
Image 13Ultra HD photography taken atLa Silla Observatory (fromObservational astronomy)
Image 14TheHubble Space Telescope (fromHistory of astronomy)
Image 15HistoricalJantar Mantar observatory inJaipur, India (fromHistory of astronomy)
Image 16History of theUniverse –gravitational waves are hypothesized to arise fromcosmic inflation, a rapidly accelerated expansion just after theBig Bang (fromPhysical cosmology)
Image 17Babylonian tablet in theBritish Museum recordingHalley's Comet in 164 BC (fromHistory of astronomy)
Image 18Overview of types of observational astronomy by observed wavelengths and their observability. (fromObservational astronomy)
Image 19Sunset at theequinox from the prehistoric site of Pizzo Vento atFondachelli Fantina,Sicily (fromHistory of astronomy)
Image 20Calendrical functions of theBerlin Gold Hat c. 1000 BC (fromHistory of astronomy)
Image 21ALMA is the world's most powerful telescope for studying the Universe at submillimeter and millimeter wavelengths. (fromObservational astronomy)
Image 229th-century diagram of the positions of theseven planets on 18 March 816, from theLeiden Aratea (fromHistory of astronomy)
Image 23The inflationary theory as an augmentation to the Big Bang theory was first proposed by Alan Guth of MIT. Inflation solves the 'horizon problem' by making the early universe much more compact than was assumed in the standard model. Given such smaller size, causal contact (i.e., thermal communication) would have been possible among all regions of the early universe. The image was an adaptation from various generic charts depicting the growth of the size of the observable universe, for both the standard model and inflationary model respectively, of the Big Bang theory. (fromPhysical cosmology)
Image 24One of the Oldest Observatories inSouth America is theQuito Astronomical Observatory, founded in 1873 and located 12 minutes south of theEquator in Quito, Ecuador. The Quito Astronomical Observatory is the National Observatory of Ecuador and is located in the Historic Center of Quito and is managed by theNational Polytechnic School. (fromObservational astronomy)
Image 25An amateur astrophotography setup with an automated guide system connected to a laptop (fromObservational astronomy)
Image 26Arabicastrolabe from 1079 to 1080 AD (fromHistory of astronomy)
Image 27TheCrab Nebula as seen in various wavelengths (fromObservational astronomy)
Image 28TheNorthern Hemisphere page fromJohann Bayer's 1661 edition ofUranometria - the firstatlas to havestar charts covering the entirecelestial sphere (fromHistory of astronomy)
$Image 2950 cm refracting telescope at Nice Observatory (from Observational astronomy)$
Image 2950 cm refracting telescope atNice Observatory (fromObservational astronomy)
Image 30An assembly inEstonia to observemeteors (fromObservational astronomy)
Image 31Historical accuracy of atomic clocks fromNIST. (fromTheoretical astronomy)
Image 32Amateur astronomer recording observations of the sun. (fromAmateur astronomy)
Image 33Sir Patrick Moore was one of the world's leading popularisers of astronomy. (fromAmateur astronomy)
Image 34Segment of theastronomical ceiling of Senenmut's Tomb (circa 1479–1458 BC), depicting constellations, protective deities, and twenty-four segmented wheels for the hours of the day and the months of the year (fromHistory of astronomy)
Image 35An image of theCat's Paw Nebula created combining the work of professional and amateur astronomers. The image is the combination of the 2.2-metre MPG/ESO telescope of the La Silla Observatory in Chile and a 0.4-meter amateur telescope. (fromAmateur astronomy)
Image 36TheOort cloud, one of the most successful theoretical models about theSolar System (fromTheoretical astronomy)
Image 37Comparison ofCMB (Cosmic microwave background) results from satellitesCOBE,WMAP andPlanck documenting a progress in 1989–2013 (fromHistory of astronomy)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Featured article -show another

This is aFeatured article, which represents some of the best content on English Wikipedia.

Image of Barnard's Star and its surroundings, c. 2006 (south is up)

Barnard's Star is a smallred dwarf star in theconstellation ofOphiuchus. At a distance of 5.96light-years (1.83 pc) from Earth, it is thefourth-nearest-known individual star to theSun after the three components of theAlpha Centauri system, and is the closest star in thenorthern celestial hemisphere. Itsstellar mass is about 16% of the Sun's, and it has 19% of the Sun's diameter. Despite its proximity, the star has a dimapparent visual magnitude of +9.5 and is invisible to theunaided eye; it is much brighter in theinfrared than in visiblelight.

Barnard's Star is among the most studied red dwarfs because of its proximity and favorable location for observation near thecelestial equator. Historically, research on Barnard's Star has focused on measuring its stellar characteristics, itsastrometry, and also refining the limits of possibleextrasolar planets. Although Barnard's Star is ancient, it still experiencesstellar flare events, one being observed in 1998. (Full article...)

List of featured articles

edit

Did you know -show different entries

... thatAbell 2142, agalaxy cluster, is one of the most massive objects in the universe?
... that a jet from one of the component stars ofZ Canis Majoris is over 11light-years long?
... thatMessier 58 is one of the brightest galaxies in theVirgo Cluster and is 1 of 4barred spiral galaxies included inCharles Messier's catalog?
... that the asteroid2014 AA entered Earth's atmosphere on the early morning of January 2, 2014, less than a day after it was discovered?
... thatATIC, a balloon-borne detector flying overAntarctica, recently found excesscosmic ray electrons that might provide evidence fordark matter consisting ofKaluza-Klein particles?
.... that theSun fuses about 620 million metric tons of hydrogen per seconds due toGravity?

More Did you know facts

More Did you know(auto generated)

... that thePassive Seismic Experiment Package recorded one of the first instances of humans littering on anotherplanetary body?
... that theSpringfield Science Museum is home to the oldest operating projectionplanetarium in the United States?
... that the galaxyNGC 1700 has a rotating hot gas disk glowing inX-rays after merging with another galaxy three billion years ago?
... that the starTRAPPIST-1 has seven planets, several of which mayhave temperatures that would allow the existence of liquid water(artist's impression depicted)?
... thatfictional planets of the Solar System include planets between Venus and Earth, planets on the inside of ahollow Earth, and a planet "behind the Earth"?
... thatKim Ye-ji's performance in the10 meter air pistol at the2024 Summer Olympics led her to be dubbed the "coolest person on the planet"?

edit

WikiProjects

WikiProject Astronomy	WikiProject Solar System



WikiProject Cosmology	WikiProject Spaceflight

edit

Selected image -show another

Credit: NASA / ESA / STScI

HD 28527 is astar in theconstellation Taurus, and a member of theHyades open cluster. It is faintly visible to the naked eye with anapparent visual magnitude of 4.78. The distance to this star, as determined from itsparallax shift of22 mas, is148 light years.

More selected pictures

Read more

edit

Astronomy News

2025 in space

« 2024
2026 »

Space probe launches

Hakuto-R Mission 2 (January)
Blue Ghost Mission 1 (January)
IM-2 (February)
SPHEREx (March)
Tianwen-2

SelectedNEOs

Discoveries

Exoplanets	Gaia 4b Gaia 5b Barnard's Star Planetary system BD+05 4868Ab

Comets

Space exploration

52246 Donaldjohanson flyby

May anniversaries

1 May 1959 – The former Beltsville Center is renamed toGoddard Space Flight Center in honor of Dr.Robert H. Goddard, rocket pioneer who achieved first launch of aliquid-fueled rocket
4 May 1967 –Lunar Orbiter 4 is launched to perform a photographic survey of lunar surface features
7 May 1975 –Explorer 53 (SAS-C), a NASAX-ray astronomy space telescope, is launched from theSan Marco Range in Kenya, Africa
7 May 1997 – English-language Frenchscience fiction action film,The Fifth Element is released showing passengerinter-constellation vehicles, spacefighter craft, and various non-human creatures
14 May 1935 – Theplanetarium atGriffith Observatory inLos Angeles,California opens
14 May 1973 – The first Americanspace station,Skylab, is launched
18 May 1969 – TheApollo 10 human spaceflight is launched, testing all aspects of thelunar landing mission, except the actual lunar landing
20 May 1978 –Pioneer Venus is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida becoming the first spacecraft placed in orbit aroundVenus
30 May 1971 –Mariner 9 robotic space probe is launched becoming the first spacecraft to orbitMars

More anniversaries

edit

Space-related Portals

edit

Astronomical events

All timesUT unless otherwise specified.

5 May, 02:07	Eta Aquariids peak
11 May, 00:49	Moon atapogee
12 May, 16:56	Full moon
18 May, 00:55	Uranus atconjunction
26 May, 01:37	Moon atperigee
27 May, 03:02	New moon
30 May, 04:07	Mercury at superiorconjunction

v t e Celestial events by month
Portal:Astronomy andPortal:Outer space
2025	January February March April May June July August September October November December
2024	January February March April May June July August September October November December
2023	January February March April May June July August September October November December
2022	January February March April May June July August September October November December
2021	January February March April May June July August September October November December
2020	January February March April May June July August September October November December
2019	January February March April May June July August September October November December
2018	January February March April May June July August September October November December
2017	January February March April May June July August September October November December
2016	January February March April May June July August September October November December
2015	January February March April May June July August September October November December
2014	January February March April May June July August September October November December
2013	January February March April May June July August September October November December
2012	January February March April May June July August September October November December
2011	January February March April May June July August September October November December
2010	January February March April May June July August September October November December
2009	January February March April May June July August September October November December
2008	January February March April May June July August September October November December
2007	January February March April May June July August September October November December
2006	January February March April May June July August September October November December
2005	January February March April May June July August September October November December

edit

Topics

Astronomy

Astronomy by

Manner	Amateur Observational Sidewalk Space telescope
Celestial subject	Galactic /Extragalactic Local system Solar
EM methods	Radio Submillimetre Infrared (Far-infrared) Visible-light(optical) Ultraviolet X-ray History Gamma-ray
Other methods	Neutrino Cosmic rays Gravitational radiation High-energy Radar Spherical Multi-messenger
Culture	Australian Aboriginal Babylonian Chinese Egyptian Greek Hebrew Indian Inuit Maya Medieval Islamic Persian Serbian folk Tibetan

Optical
telescopes

v t e Major subfields ofastronomy
Astrobiology Astrochemistry Astrometry Astrophysics Cosmochemistry Cosmology Extragalactic astronomy Galactic astronomy Orbital mechanics Physical cosmology Planetary geology Planetary science Solar astronomy Stellar astronomy