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Meaning of ASTRONOMY

Pronunciation:  u'strânumee

 
WordNet Dictionary
 
 Definition: 
[n]  the branch of physics that studies celestial bodies and the universe as a whole
 

ASTRONOMY is a 9 letter word that starts with A.

 

 Synonyms: uranology
 
 See Also: astrodynamics, astrometry, astrophysics, celestial mechanics, natural philosophy, physical science, physics, radio astronomy, solar physics

 

 

Webster's 1913 Dictionary
 
 Definition: 
\As*tron"o*my\, n. [OE. astronomie, F. astronomie, L.
astronomia, fr. Gr. ?, fr. ? astronomer; 'asth`r star + ? to
distribute, regulate. See {Star}, and {Nomad}.]
1. Astrology. [Obs.]
         Not from the stars do I my judgment pluck; And yet
         methinks I have astronomy.            --Shak.
2. The science which treats of the celestial bodies, of their
   magnitudes, motions, distances, periods of revolution,
   eclipses, constitution, physical condition, and of the
   causes of their various phenomena.
3. A treatise on, or text-book of, the science.
{Physical astronomy}. See under {Physical}.
 
Easton Bible Dictionary
 
 Definition: 

The Hebrews were devout students of the wonders of the starry firmanent (Amos 5:8; Ps. 19). In the Book of Job, which is the oldest book of the Bible in all probability, the constellations are distinguished and named. Mention is made of the "morning star" (Rev. 2:28; comp. Isa. 14:12), the "seven stars" and "Pleiades," "Orion," "Arcturus," the "Great Bear" (Amos 5:8; Job 9:9; 38:31), "the crooked serpent," Draco (Job 26:13), the Dioscuri, or Gemini, "Castor and Pollux" (Acts 28:11). The stars were called "the host of heaven" (Isa. 40:26; Jer. 33:22).

The oldest divisions of time were mainly based on the observation of the movements of the heavenly bodies, the "ordinances of heaven" (Gen. 1:14-18; Job 38:33; Jer. 31:35; 33:25). Such observations led to the division of the year into months and the mapping out of the appearances of the stars into twelve portions, which received from the Greeks the name of the "zodiac." The word "Mazzaroth" (Job 38:32) means, as the margin notes, "the twelve signs" of the zodiac. Astronomical observations were also necessary among the Jews in order to the fixing of the proper time for sacred ceremonies, the "new moons," the "passover," etc. Many allusions are found to the display of God's wisdom and power as seen in the starry heavens (Ps. 8; 19:1-6; Isa. 51:6, etc.)

 
Thesaurus Terms
 
 Related Terms: astrogeology, astrognosy, astrography, astrolithology, astrophotography, astrophysics, celestial mechanics, gravitational astronomy, meteoritics, radar astronomy, radio astronomy, solar physics, spectrography, spectroscopy, stargazing, stellar photometry, uranography, uranology, uranometry
 

 

 

 

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