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  1. Astronomy - Ancient, Celestial, Observations | Britannica

    Dec 19, 2025 · This article focuses on this central story line. In doing so, there is regrettably little space for other fascinating branches of the history of astronomy. New World astronomy, for …

  2. Astronomy | Definition, History, Discoveries, & Facts | Britannica

    Dec 19, 2025 · Astronomy, science that encompasses the study of all extraterrestrial objects and phenomena. Since the late 19th century, astronomy has expanded to include astrophysics, the …

  3. History of astronomy and contributions of Ptolemy, Nicolaus …

    Learn about the history of astronomy and the significant contributions of Ptolemy, Nicolaus Copernicus, and Isaac Newton Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia …

  4. Astronomy - Stars, Galaxies, Cosmology | Britannica

    Dec 19, 2025 · A key theoretical development for 20th-century astronomy and cosmology was the development of the theory of relativity, from 1905 to 1915, which eventually led to an …

  5. Astronomy - Ancient Greece, Stars, Planets | Britannica

    Dec 19, 2025 · Astronomy - Ancient Greece, Stars, Planets: Astronomy is present from the beginning of Greek literature. In Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, stars and constellations are …

  6. Astronomy Portal | Britannica

    Astronomy, science that encompasses the study of all extraterrestrial objects and phenomena. Until the invention of the telescope and the discovery of the laws of motion and gravity in the …

  7. Astronomy - Solar System, Planets, Stars | Britannica

    Dec 19, 2025 · Astronomy - Solar System, Planets, Stars: The solar system took shape 4.57 billion years ago, when it condensed within a large cloud of gas and dust. Gravitational …

  8. How Was the Universe Created? | Big Bang, Expansion, Cooling ...

    4 days ago · The most widely accepted explanation for the origin of the universe is the big-bang theory, which proposes that the universe began approximately 13.8 billion years ago in an …

  9. astronomy - Kids | Britannica Kids | Homework Help

    The study of astronomy involves all of the objects outside Earth’s atmosphere. These include the Sun, Moon, planets, stars, galaxies, and all other matter in the universe.

  10. Comet - Origins, Formation, & Discovery | Britannica

    Nov 29, 2025 · German mathematician and astronomer Friedrich Bessel suggested that expulsion of material from a comet near perihelion was acting like a rocket motor and propelling the …