CZ:Core Articles/Astronomy

This page lists links to entries identified as Core Articles in astronomy.

•  Astronomy: The study of objects and processes in the observable universe, e.g. stars, planets, comets or asteroids. ^[e]
•  Solar system: Our sun, Sol and the astronomical objects, like Planet Earth, gravitationally bound to it ^[e]
•  Planet: A cosmic body orbiting a star. ^[e] -- Derek Harkness
•  Moon: a naturally-occurring satellite that is in orbit around a planet; the moon is the Earth's only satellite. ^[e] -- Derek Harkness
•  History of Astronomy: Add brief definition or description -- Thomas Simmons
•  Universe: The summation of all particles and energy that exist and the space-time in which all events occur. ^[e]
•  Andromeda Galaxy: Nearest large spiral galaxy to the Milky Way, also known as Messier 31 ^[e] -- Thomas Simmons
•  Astrophysics: Hybrid of Physics and Astronomy that attempts to explain the physical workings of the celestial objects and phenomena. ^[e] -- Thomas Simmons
•  Cosmology: A branch of astronomy and of metaphysics committed to the study of the universe as a whole, of the contents, structure, and evolution of the universe from the beginning of time to the future. ^[e] -- Thomas Simmons
• Earth: Please do not use this term in your topic list, because there is no single article for it. Please substitute a more precise term. See Earth (disambiguation) for a list of available, more precise, topics. Please add a new usage if needed. (also in Earth Sciences - please check CZ talk:Core Articles)
•  Interstellar matter: The gaseous and dust material between the stars. ^[e] -- Thomas Simmons
•  Johannes Kepler: (1571-1630) German astronomer best known for his three laws of planetary motion. ^[e]
•  Milky Way: The Milky Way galaxy which contains our solar system. ^[e]
•  Ptolemy: (2nd century AD) Egyptian astronomer and geographer whose main work, the Almagest, a compendium of contemporary astronomical knowledge, was in use into the 15th century. ^[e]
•  Star: A massive, luminous ball of plasma that is held together by gravity. ^[e] -- Thomas Simmons
•  Telescope: Instrument designed for the observation of remote objects by the collection of electromagnetic radiation. ^[e] -- Thomas Simmons
•  Astronomical Unit: Mean distance from the Earth to the Sun used to provide relative distances within the solar system; value is approx. 150 million kms. ^[e] -- Thomas Simmons
•  Big Bang: A cosmological theory holding that the universe originated approximately 20 billion years ago from the violent explosion of a very small agglomeration of matter of extremely high density and temperature. ^[e] -- Thomas Simmons
•  Black hole: Area of space-time with a gravitational field so intense that its escape velocity is equal to or exceeds the speed of light. ^[e]
•  Comet: A ball of gas and ice that hurtles in an elliptical orbit around the Sun. ^[e]
•  Dark matter: Theoretical matter that neither emits nor absorbs light and appears to interact with other matter only gravitationally. ^[e] -- Thomas Simmons
• HR Diagram: Add brief definition or description
•  IAU: Internationally recognized authority for assigning designations to celestial bodies (stars, planets, asteroids, etc), headquartered in Paris, France. ^[e]
•  Kepler's laws: Three mathematical laws were discovered by German mathematician and astronomer Johannes Kepler (1571–1630), and used by him to describe the motion of planets in the Solar System, and the motion of any two bodies orbiting each other. ^[e]
•  Neutron star: the remnant of a star that had sufficient mass to explode in a supernova, but not so much mass that it forms a black hole instead of a neutron star. ^[e]
•  Nicolaus Copernicus: (1473–1543) Astronomer, founder of the heliocentric system. ^[e]
•  Supernova: An astronomical object exploding to a brightness similar to that of an entire galaxy. Caused by a catastrophic explosion of either a white dwarf system or an aged star about five times the size of the sun, which occurs when the star collapses; a neutron star or a black hole may be formed as a result, or the explosion results in no remaining compact object. ^[e]
• William Herschel: Add brief definition or description
•  Mercury: The first planet from the Sun in our solar system; named after the Roman messenger of gods. ^[e] -- Thomas Simmons
•  Jupiter: The fifth planet from the Sun in our solar system; named after the Roman god of the same name; largest planet in our solar system. ^[e] -- Thomas Simmons
•  Uranus: The seventh planet from the Sun in our solar system; name after the Greek god of the sky. ^[e] -- Thomas Simmons
•  Neptune: The eighth planet from the Sun in our solar system; named after the Roman god of the sea. ^[e] -- Thomas Simmons
•  Dwarf planet: A celestial object orbiting a sun that is massive enough to obtain a round shape but too small to clear its orbital path of other celestial bodies. ^[e] -- Thomas Simmons
•  Pluto: A dwarf planet beyond Neptune that, for many years, was officially considered a planet; named after the Roman god of the underworld. ^[e]
•  Asteroid: Small, rocky bodies that orbit the Sun but have no atmosphere. ^[e]
• Asteroid belt: Add brief definition or description
• Binary star: Add brief definition or description
• Celestial coordinates: Any of a number of reference systems designed to specify the positions of celestial objects. ^[e]
• Celestial mechanics: Study of the application of the laws of physics to the motions of planets, satellites, and other celestial objects. ^[e]
• Cepheid variable: Pulsating variable star which exhibits a relation between period of variation and absolute luminosity as a result of which they are good indicators of cosmic distances. ^[e]
•  Ceres (dwarf planet): The most massive body in the asteroid belt. Originally classified as a planet, it later became the number one asteroid; now a dwarf planet. ^[e]
• Cosmic microwave background: Add brief definition or description
• Cosmic rays: Add brief definition or description
•  Crab Nebula: Add brief definition or description
• Eros (asteroid): Add brief definition or description
• Flare star: Add brief definition or description
• Galilean satellites: Add brief definition or description
•  Globular cluster: Add brief definition or description
• H I region: Add brief definition or description
• H II region: Add brief definition or description
• Halley's comet: Add brief definition or description
• Hubble constant: Add brief definition or description
• Magellanic Clouds: Add brief definition or description
• Nebula: Add brief definition or description
• Nova: Add brief definition or description
•  Olber's paradox: Add brief definition or description
•  Open cluster: Add brief definition or description
• Orion nebula: Add brief definition or description
• 2006 definition of planet: Add brief definition or description
•  Kuiper belt: Add brief definition or description -- Thomas Simmons
• Extrasolar Planet: Add brief definition or description
• Scattered disc: Add brief definition or description
• Meteroid: Add brief definition or description
• Dust: Add brief definition or description
• Oort Cloud: Add brief definition or description
• Walter Baade: Add brief definition or description
• Friedrich Bessel: Add brief definition or description
•  Parsec: Add brief definition or description -- Anthony Argyriou
• Planetary nebula: Add brief definition or description
• Pleiades: Add brief definition or description
•  Precession: Add brief definition or description
• Proper motion: Add brief definition or description
• Pulsar: Add brief definition or description
• Quasar: Add brief definition or description
•  Redshift: Add brief definition or description
• Solar eclipse: Add brief definition or description
• Solar wind: Add brief definition or description
• Star formation: Add brief definition or description
• Stellar evolution: Add brief definition or description
• Stellar parallax: Add brief definition or description
• Stellar populations: Add brief definition or description
• Sunspots: Add brief definition or description
•  Tide: Add brief definition or description (also in Earth Sciences)
•  Variable star: Add brief definition or description
• White dwarf: Add brief definition or description
• Henrietta Leavitt: Add brief definition or description
•  Isaac Newton: Add brief definition or description
• Edward C. Pickering: Add brief definition or description
• Henry Norris Russell: Add brief definition or description
• Harlow Shapley: Add brief definition or description
• ESA: Add brief definition or description
• RAS: Add brief definition or description
• Palomar Observatory: Add brief definition or description
• Annie Jump Cannon: Add brief definition or description
• Alvan Clark: Add brief definition or description
• George Ellery Hale: Add brief definition or description
• Edwin Hubble: Add brief definition or description
•  Jacobus Kapteyn: Add brief definition or description
• Gerard Kuiper: Add brief definition or description
•  Spectroscopy: Add brief definition or description

Already-written core articles in this workgroup

•  Sun: Add brief definition or description
•  Constellation: Add brief definition or description
•  Tycho Brahe: Add brief definition or description
•  Venus: Add brief definition or description
•  Mars: Add brief definition or description
•  Saturn: Add brief definition or description
•  Calendar: Add brief definition or description
• Galaxy: Add brief definition or description
•  Galileo Galilei: Add brief definition or description
•  NASA: Add brief definition or description