CZ:Core Articles > Astronomy

•  Astronomy: The study of objects and processes in the observable universe, e.g. stars, planets, comets or asteroids. [e]
•  Solar system: The sun and the planets orbiting it. [e]
•  Planet: A cosmic body orbiting a star. [e] -- Derek Harkness
•  Moon: The only natural satellite of our planet Earth. [e] -- Derek Harkness
•  History of Astronomy: Add brief definition or description -- Thomas Simmons
•  Universe: Add brief definition or description
•  Andromeda Galaxy: Nearest large spiral galaxy to the Milky Way, also known as Messier 31 [e] -- Thomas Simmons
•  Astrophysics: Add brief definition or description -- 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: The third planet from the Sun in our solar system; the only place in the universe known by humanity to harbor life. [e] (also in Earth Sciences - please check CZ talk:Core Articles)
•  Interstellar matter: Add brief definition or description -- Thomas Simmons
•  Johannes Kepler: (1571-1630) German astronomer best known for his three laws of planetary motion. [e]
•  Milky Way: Add brief definition or description
•  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: Add brief definition or description -- Thomas Simmons
•  Telescope: Add brief definition or description -- 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: Add brief definition or description -- Thomas Simmons
•  Black hole: Add brief definition or description
• Comet: Add brief definition or description
•  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: Add brief definition or description
•  Kepler's laws: Add brief definition or description
• Neutron star: Add brief definition or description
•  Nicolaus Copernicus: (1473–1543) Astronomer, founder of the heliocentric system. [e]
• Supernova: A catastrophic explosion of a star about five times the size of the sun, which occurs when the star collapses; either a neutron star or a black hole is formed as a result. [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 above Neptune that, for many years, have been considered a planet. Named after the Roman god of the underworld. [e]
• Asteroid: Add brief definition or description
• Asteroid belt: Add brief definition or description
• Binary star: Add brief definition or description
• Celestial coordinates: Add brief definition or description
• Celestial mechanics: Add brief definition or description
• 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 more massive body of the asteroid belt. Originally classified as a planet, later was considered an asteroid. [e]
• Cosmic microwave background: Add brief definition or description
• Cosmic rays: Add brief definition or description
•  Crab Nebula: An emission nebula located in the constellation Taurus. [e]
• 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: A term used in Astronomy and Physics to refer to the phenomenon by which electromagnetic radiation's observed wavelength increases, thereby causing an apparent decrease in the observed frequency. [e]
• 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: The rising or falling of an ocean due to tidal forces. [e] (also in Earth Sciences)
•  Variable star: A star whose apparent brightness exhibits periodic variations [e]
• White dwarf: Add brief definition or description
• Henrietta Leavitt: (1868-1921) American astronomer, discoverer of thousands of variable stars whose studies of Cepheid variables led to the discovery of the period-luminosity relationship. [e]
•  Isaac Newton: (1642–1727) English physicist and mathematician, best known for his elucidation of the universal theory of gravitation and his development of calculus. [e]
• Edward C. Pickering: Add brief definition or description
• Henry Norris Russell: (1877-1957) American astronomer who first developed the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram relating the absolute magnitudes of main sequence stars with their spectral types. [e]
• Harlow Shapley: (1885-1972) American astronomer whose studies of globular clusters enabled him to derive the first scientific estimates of the size and extent of the Milky Way Galaxy. [e]
• European Space Agency: Add brief definition or description
• Royal Astronomical Society: British organization for professional astronomers, founded in 1820; publishes the Monthly Notices (MNRAS). [e]
• 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: (1889-1953) American astronomer who demonstrated the existence of galaxies external to the Milky Way Galaxy and a relation between distance and velocity of recession for galaxies. [e]
•  Jacobus Kapteyn: same as Jacobus Kapteijn; Dutch astronomer (1851 - 1922). [e]
• Gerard Kuiper: Add brief definition or description
• Spectroscopy: Add brief definition or description

Already-written core articles in this workgroup

•  Sun: The star that defines our solar system. [e]
•  Constellation: An officially recognised formation of stars, such as the Big Dipper or Orion. [e]
•  Tycho Brahe: Danish astronomer of the 16th century. [e]
•  Venus: The second planet from the Sun in our solar system; named after the Roman goddess of love. [e]
•  Mars: The fourth planet from the Sun in our solar system; named after the Roman god of war; also known as the "Red Planet". [e]
•  Saturn: The sixth planet from the Sun in our solar system; named after the Roman god of agriculture and harvest. [e]
•  Calendar: A method used for keeping time on a scale of years. [e]
•  Galaxy: Gravitationally bound system of stars typically contain ten million to one trillion stars. [e]
•  Galileo Galilei: (1564-1642) Italian scientist, a pioneer in combining mathematical theory with systematic experiment in science, who came into conflict with the Church. [e]
•  NASA: Add brief definition or description