Portal:Astronomy

Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, galaxies, meteoroids, asteroids, and comets. Relevant phenomena include supernova explosions, gamma ray bursts, quasars, blazars, pulsars, and cosmic microwave background radiation. More generally, astronomy studies everything that originates beyond Earth's atmosphere. Cosmology is the branch of astronomy that studies the universe as a whole.

Astronomy is one of the oldest natural sciences. The early civilizations in recorded history made methodical observations of the night sky. These include the Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks, Indians, Chinese, Maya, and many ancient indigenous peoples of the Americas. In the past, astronomy included disciplines as diverse as astrometry, celestial navigation, observational astronomy, and the making of calendars.

Astronomy is one of the few sciences in which amateurs play an active role. This is especially true for the discovery and observation of transient events. Amateur astronomers have helped with many important discoveries, such as finding new comets. (Full article...)

Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 (formally designated D/1993 F2) was a comet that broke apart in July 1992 and collided with Jupiter in July 1994, providing the first direct observation of an extraterrestrial collision of Solar System objects. This generated a large amount of coverage in the popular media, and the comet was closely observed by astronomers worldwide. The collision provided new information about Jupiter and highlighted its possible role in reducing space debris in the inner Solar System.

The comet was discovered by astronomers Carolyn and Eugene M. Shoemaker, and David Levy in 1993. Shoemaker–Levy 9 (SL9) had been captured by Jupiter and was orbiting the planet at the time. It was located on the night of March 24 in two photographs taken with the 46 cm (18 in) Schmidt telescope at the Palomar Observatory in California. It was the first active comet observed to be orbiting a planet, and had probably been captured by Jupiter around 20 to 30 years earlier. (Full article...)

• ... that 12th-century Muslim scientist Al-Khazini, who proposed a theory of gravitation long before Isaac Newton, was, in his early life, a slave of the Seljuq Turks?
• ... that Kepler-47c is a circumbinary planet orbiting in the habitable zone of Kepler-47, a binary star system?
• ... that two high school students used the automated telescope at Leuschner Observatory to record the earliest images of supernova SN 1994I?
• ... that the Kuiper crater in the Kuiper quadrangle, named after Dutch American astronomer Gerard Kuiper, has the highest albedo recorded on Mercury?
• ...that Mt. Olympus Mons on Mars is the highest peak in the solar system?

• ... that the galaxy NGC 1700 has a rotating hot gas disk glowing in X-rays after merging with another galaxy three billion years ago?
• ... that novelist Hal Clement created the planet Mesklin in 1953 based on the real-world suspected detection of an extrasolar planet?
• ... that one night on the planet Venus lasts just over 58 full days on Earth?
• ... that two competing hypotheses seek to explain the unusual orbit of the exoplanet Nu Octantis Ab?
• ... that Michael Collins has been called "one of the best clarinettists walking the planet" by The Times?
• ... that Kim Ye-ji's performance in the 10 meter air pistol at the 2024 Summer Olympics led her to be dubbed the "coolest person on the planet"?

A Dobsonian telescope is an altazimuth-mounted Newtonian telescope design popularized by John Dobson in 1965 and credited with vastly increasing the size of telescopes available to amateur astronomers. Photo of home made dobsonian used to make a solar projection (Split, Croatia).

3 March 2026 –

Astronomers announce the discovery 1,900 light-years from Earth of TIC 120362137, the tightest known quadruple star system, using data from NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite. (Space.com)

10 December 2025 – Brazil–China relations

Brazil and China begin constructing a joint laboratory for radio astronomic technology with the Federal University of Campina Grande and the Federal University of Paraíba to support space research as both countries work on the BINGO radio telescope. (Reuters)

• 7 March 2009 – The Kepler space telescope is launched by NASA to discover Earth-like planets orbiting other stars
• 13 March 1781 – William Herschel observes Uranus, which he initially believes to be a comet, eventually leading to Uranus being identified as a planet
• 14 March 1986 – The European robotic spacecraft Giotto becomes the first satellite to observe a comet up close when it flies through and photographs Halley's Comet
• 16 March 1926 – Using a mixture of gasoline and liquid oxygen, Robert H. Goddard launches the first liquid-fueled rocket
• 18 March 2011 – MESSENGER becomes the first spacecraft to orbit around the planet Mercury
• 23 March 1912 – Wernher von Braun, a German-American aerospace engineer and space architect is born