Aarhus, Denmark

Astronomy

Master's
Table of contents

Astronomy at AU

Language: EnglishStudies in English
Subject area: physical science, environment
ECTS: 120
University website: international.au.dk/

Definitions and quotes

Astronomy
Astronomy (from Greek: ἀστρονομία) is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It applies mathematics, physics, and chemistry, in an effort to explain the origin of those objects and phenomena and their evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, galaxies, and comets; the phenomena include supernova explosions, gamma ray bursts, and cosmic microwave background radiation. More generally, all phenomena that originate outside Earth's atmosphere are within the purview of astronomy. A related but distinct subject, physical cosmology, is concerned with the study of the Universe as a whole.
Astronomy
Look at the stars! look, look up at the skies!
O look at all the fire-folk sitting in the air!
The bright boroughs, the circle-citadels there!
Gerard Manley Hopkins, The Starlight Night lines 1-3, (1877).
Astronomy
The wonder is, not that the field of stars is so vast, but that man has measured it.
Anatole France - The Garden of Epicurus, 1894.
Astronomy
A fair number of people who go on to major in astronomy have decided on it certainly by the time they leave junior high, if not during junior high. I think it’s somewhat unusual that way. I think most children pick their field quite a bit later, but astronomy seems to catch early, and if it does, it sticks.
Nancy Roman, from interview by Rebecca Wright, Oral History Transcript (15 Sep 2000), on NASA website
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