Outline of astronomy

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to astronomy:
Astronomy – studies the universe beyond Earth, including its formation and development, and the evolution, physics, chemistry, meteorology, and motion of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth. Astronomy also intersects with biology, as astrobiology, studying potential life throughout the universe.

Nature of astronomy

Astronomy can be described as all the following:

An academic discipline: one with academic departments, curricula and degrees; national and international societies; and specialized journals.
A scientific field – widely recognized category of specialized expertise within science, and typically embodies it
* A natural science – one that seeks to elucidate the rules that govern the natural world using empirical and scientific methods.
** A branch or field of space science
A hobby or part-time pursuit for the satisfaction of personal curiosity or appreciation of beauty, the latter especially including astrophotography.

Branches

Astrobiology – studies the advent and evolution of biological systems in the universe.
Astrophysics – branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties of celestial objects, as well as their interactions and behavior. Among the objects studied are galaxies, stars, planets, exoplanets, the interstellar medium and the cosmic microwave background; and the properties examined include luminosity, density, temperature, and chemical composition. The subdisciplines of theoretical astrophysics are:
* Compact objects – this subdiscipline studies very dense matter in white dwarfs and neutron stars and their effects on environments including accretion.
* Physical cosmology – origin and evolution of the universe as a whole. The study of cosmology is theoretical astrophysics at its largest scale.
* Quantum cosmology - the study of cosmology through the use of quantum field theory to explain phenomena general relativity cannot due to limitations in its framework.
* Computational astrophysics – The study of astrophysics using computational methods and tools to develop computational models.
* Galactic astronomy – deals with the structure and components of our Galaxy and of other galaxies.
* High energy astrophysics – studies phenomena occurring at high energies including active galactic nuclei, supernovae, gamma-ray bursts, quasars, and shocks.
* Interstellar astrophysics – study of the interstellar medium, intergalactic medium and dust.
* Extragalactic astronomy – study of objects outside our Galaxy, including galaxy formation and evolution.
* Stellar astronomy – concerned with Star formation, physical properties, main sequence life span, variability, stellar evolution and extinction.
* Plasma astrophysics – studies properties of plasma in outer space.
* Relativistic astrophysics – studies effects of special relativity and general relativity in astrophysical contexts including gravitational waves, gravitational lensing and black holes.
* Solar physics – Sun and its interaction with the remainder of the Solar System and interstellar space.
Planetary Science – study of planets, moons, and planetary systems.
* Atmospheric science – study of atmospheres and weather.
* Exoplanetology – various planets outside of the Solar System
* Planetary formation – formation of planets and moons in the context of the formation and evolution of the Solar System.
* Planetary rings – dynamics, stability, and composition of planetary rings
* Magnetospheres – magnetic fields of planets and moons
* Planetary surfaces – surface geology of planets and moons
* Planetary interiors – interior composition of planets and moons
* Small Solar System bodies – smallest bodies, including asteroids, comets, Kuiper belt objects, and dust.
Astronomy divided by general technique used for astronomical research:
* Astrometry – study of the position of objects in the sky and their changes of position. Defines the system of coordinates used and the kinematics of objects in our Galaxy.
* Observational astronomy – practice of observing celestial objects by using telescopes and other astronomical apparatus. It is concerned with recording data. The subdisciplines of observational astronomy are generally made by the specifications of the detectors, specifically the ranges of wavelengths observed:
** Radio astronomy – Above 300 μm
** Submillimetre astronomy – 200 μm to 1 mm
** Infrared astronomy – 0.7–350 μm
** Optical astronomy – 380–750 nm
** Ultraviolet astronomy – 10–320 nm
** X-ray astronomy – 0.01–10 nm
** Gamma-ray astronomy – Below 0.01 nm
** Cosmic ray astronomy – Cosmic rays, including plasma
** Neutrino astronomy – Neutrinos
** Dust astronomy – Cosmic dust
** Gravitational wave astronomy – Gravitons
* Photometry – study of how bright celestial objects are when passed through different filters
* Spectroscopy – study of the spectra of astronomical objects
Other disciplines that may be considered part of astronomy:
* Archaeoastronomy
* Astrochemistry

History

History of astronomy

History of the Center of the Universe
* Geocentric model
* Heliocentrism
** Copernican heliocentrism
** Tychonic system
Archaeoastronomy
* Archaeoastronomy and Vedic chronology
Pretelescopic astronomy
* Babylonian astronomy
* Chinese astronomy
* Egyptian astronomy
* Greek astronomy
* Hebrew astronomy
* Indian astronomy
* Islamic astronomy
* Russian astronomy
* Astronomy in the Middle Ages
** Science in Medieval Western Europe
** Astronomy in medieval Islam
History of astronomy in the Renaissance
* Scientific developments during the Scientific Revolution
** Patronage in astronomy
** Copernican Revolution
*** Copernican heliocentrism
*** Nicolaus Copernicus
**** On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres
*** Tycho Brahe
**** Tychonic system
*** Galileo Galilei
**** Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems defense of the heliocentric system written by Galileo, which led to his trial and house arrest by the Inquisition.
** Invention of the telescope
*** History of visible-light astronomy
History of astronomy in the Age of Reflection
History of X-ray astronomy
History of infrared astronomy
History of gamma-ray astronomy
History of supernova observation
* List of supernovae

Basic astronomical phenomena

Astronomical objects

Astronomical object

Solar System

Sun

Planets

Small Solar System bodies

Small Solar System body

Asteroids
* Minor planets
* :Category:Asteroid groups and families
** Vulcanoid asteroids
** Near-Earth asteroids
** Asteroid belt
** Trojan asteroid
** Centaur
** Neptune Trojans
** Minor [planet moon]s
** Meteoroids
** 2 Pallas
** 3 Juno
** 4 Vesta
** 10 Hygiea
* List of asteroids
* Meanings of asteroid names
Trans-Neptunian objects
*Kuiper belt
** Plutinos
*** 90482 Orcus
** Cubewanos
** 15760 Albion
** Haumea family
** 50000 Quaoar
*Scattered disc
** 225088 Gonggong
** 90377 Sedna
* Comets
* List of periodic comets
* List of non-periodic comets
* Damocloids
* Hills cloud
* Oort cloud

Exoplanets

Exoplanet – planet outside the Solar System. A total of 4,341 such planets have been identified as of 28 Jan 2021.
* Super-Earth – exoplanet with a mass higher than Earth's, but substantially below those of the Solar System's ice giants.
* Mini-Neptune – also known as a gas dwarf or transitional planet. A planet up to 10 Earth masses, but less massive than Uranus and Neptune.
* Super-Jupiter – an exoplanet more massive than Jupiter.
* Sub-Earth – an exoplanet "substantially less massive" than Earth and Venus.
* Circumbinary planet – an exoplanet that orbits two stars.
* Hot Jupiter – an exoplanet whose characteristics are similar to Jupiter, but that have high surface temperatures because they orbit very close to their parent stars, whereas Jupiter orbits its parent star at 5.2 AU, causing low surface temperatures.
* Hot Neptune – an exoplanet in an orbit close to its star, with a mass similar to that of Uranus or Neptune.
* Pulsar planet – a planet that orbits a pulsar or a rapidly rotating neutron star.
* Rogue planet – a planetary-mass object that orbits the galaxy directly.

Stars and stellar objects

Fixed stars

Stars

Variable stars

Variable star

Supernovae

Supernova

Classes
* Type Ia supernova
* Type Ib and Ic supernovae
* Type II (IIP and IIL)
Related
* Near-Earth supernova
* Supernova impostor
* Hypernova
* Quark-nova
* Pulsar kicks
Structure
* Pair-instability supernova
* Supernova nucleosynthesis
* P-process
* R-process
* Gamma-ray burst
* Carbon detonation
Progenitors
* Luminous blue variable
* Wolf–Rayet star
* Supergiant
** Blue supergiant
** Red supergiant
** Yellow supergiant
* Hypergiant
** Yellow hypergiant
* White dwarf
Remnants
* Supernova remnant
* Neutron star
** Pulsar
** Magnetar
** Stellar black hole
* Compact star
* Supergiant
** Quark star
** Exotic star
Discovery
* Guest star
* History of supernova observation
* Timeline of white dwarfs, neutron stars, and supernovae
Notable
* List of supernovae
* List of supernova remnants
* List of supernova candidates
* List of most massive stars
* Supernovae in fiction
* SN 1054
* Supergiant
** Crab Nebula
* Tycho's
* Kepler's
* SN 1987A
* SN 185
* SN 1006
* SN 2003fg
* Vela Supernova Remnant
* Remnant G1.9+0.3
* SN 2007bi
Research
* Supernova Cosmology Project
* High-z Supernova Search Team
* Texas Supernova Search
* Nearby Supernova Factory
* Supernova Legacy Survey
* Supernova Early Warning System
* Monte Agliale Supernovae and Asteroid Survey
* Supernova/Acceleration Probe
*

Black holes

[Image:BlackHole.jpg|thumb|Artist's representation of a black hole.]
Black hole

Types
*Schwarzschild metric
* Rotating black hole
* Charged black hole
* Virtual black hole
Size
*Micro black hole
* Extremal black hole
* Stellar black hole
* Intermediate-mass black hole
* Supermassive black hole
* Quasar
** Active galactic nucleus
** Blazar
Formation
*Stellar evolution
* Gravitational collapse
* Neutron star
* Compact star
** Quark star
** Exotic star
* Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkoff limit
* White dwarf
* Supernova
* Hypernova
* Gamma-ray burst
Properties
*Black hole thermodynamics
* Schwarzschild radius
* M–sigma relation
* Event horizon
* Quasi-periodic oscillation
* Photon sphere
* Ergosphere
* Hawking radiation
* Penrose process
* Bondi accretion
* Spaghettification
* Gravitational lens
Models
*Gravitational singularity
* Primordial black hole
* Gravastar
* Dark star
* Dark energy star
* Black star
* Magnetospheric eternally collapsing object
* Fuzzball
* White hole
* Naked singularity
* Ring singularity
* Immirzi parameter
* Membrane paradigm
* Kugelblitz
* Wormhole
* Quasistar
Issues
*No-hair theorem
* Black hole information paradox
* Cosmic censorship hypothesis
* Nonsingular black hole models
* Holographic principle
* Black hole complementarity
Metrics
*Schwarzschild metric
* Kerr metric
* Reissner–Nordström
* Kerr–Newman
Related
*List of black holes
* Timeline of black hole physics
* Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer
* Hypercompact stellar system

Constellations

The 88 modern constellations

Constellation history

The 48 constellations listed by [Ptolemy] after 150 AD

Andromeda
Aquarius
Aquila
Ara
Argo Navis
Aries
Auriga
Boötes
Cancer
Canis Major
Canis Minor
Capricornus
Cassiopeia
Centaurus
Cepheus
Cetus
Corona Australis
Corona Borealis
Corvus
Crater
Cygnus
Delphinus
Draco
Equuleus
Eridanus
Gemini
Hercules
Hydra
Leo
Lepus
Libra
Lupus
Lyra
Ophiuchus
Orion
Pegasus
Perseus
Pisces
Piscis Austrinus
Sagitta
Sagittarius
Scorpius
Serpens
Taurus
Triangulum
Ursa Major
Ursa Minor
Virgo
The 41 additional constellations added in the 16th and 17th centuries
Vespucci or Corsalius early 16c: Crux
Triangulum Australe ▶ Vopel 1536: Coma Berenices ▶ Keyser & de Houtman 1596: Apus
Chamaeleon
Dorado
Grus
Hydrus
Indus
Musca
Pavo
Phoenix
Tucana
Volans ▶ Plancius 1613: Camelopardalis
Columba
Monoceros ▶ Habrecht 1621: Reticulum ▶ Hevelius 1683: Canes Venatici
Lacerta
Leo Minor
Lynx
Scutum
Sextans
Vulpecula ▶ de Lacaille 1763: Antlia
Caelum
Carina
Circinus
Fornax
Horologium
Mensa
Microscopium
Norma
Octans
Pictor
Puppis
Pyxis
Sculptor
Telescopium
Vela
Obsolete constellations including Ptolemy's ''Argo Navis''

Obsolete constellations including Ptolemy's Argo Navis
Anser

Clusters and nebulae

Galaxies

Cosmology

Organizations

Public sector space agencies

Space agencies

Africa

North Africa

North America

South America

Asia

East Asia

Europe

Oceania

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation

World

Preceded by the Soviet space program

Books and publications

AlmagestAstronomia NovaAstronomical JournalAstrophysical JournalBD CatalogueDe RevolutionibusHenry Draper CatalogueMessier CatalogueNew General Catalogue

''Principia''