Astronomy
Human beings have long been fascinated by the celestial sphere above, whose twinkling lights have inspired not only scientific theories but also many artistic endeavors. Humankind's fascination with the world beyond Earth has led to many landmark moments in history, as when space exploration took a giant step forward with the advent of technology that allowed humans to successfully travel to the Moon and to build spacecraft capable of exploring the rest of the solar system and beyond.
Astronomy Encyclopedia Articles
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Neil Armstrong
Neil Armstrong was a U.S. astronaut, and the first person to set foot on the Moon. Neil Armstrong was the eldest of three children born to Viola Louise Engel and Stephen Koenig Armstrong, a state auditor....
star
Star, any massive self-luminous celestial body of gas that shines by radiation derived from its internal energy sources. Of the tens of billions of trillions of stars composing the observable universe,...
Valentina Tereshkova
Valentina Tereshkova Soviet cosmonaut, the first woman to travel into space. On June 16, 1963, she was launched in the spacecraft Vostok 6, which completed 48 orbits in 71 hours. In space at the same time...
universe
Universe, the whole cosmic system of matter and energy of which Earth, and therefore the human race, is a part. Humanity has traveled a long road since societies imagined Earth, the Sun, and the Moon as...
Valery Vladimirovich Polyakov
Valery Vladimirovich Polyakov Russian cosmonaut who holds the record for the longest single spaceflight in history. Polyakov had an early interest in spaceflight, and in 1971 he joined the Institute of...
Great Red Spot
Great Red Spot, a long-lived enormous storm system on the planet Jupiter and the most conspicuous feature of its visible cloud surface. It is generally reddish in colour, slightly oval in shape, and approximately...
astrobiology
Astrobiology, a multidisciplinary field dealing with the nature, existence, and search for extraterrestrial life (life beyond Earth). Astrobiology encompasses areas of biology, astronomy, and geology....
infrared astronomy
Infrared astronomy, study of astronomical objects through observations of the infrared radiation that they emit. Various types of celestial objects—including the planets of the solar system, stars, nebulae,...
solar system
Solar system, assemblage consisting of the Sun—an average star in the Milky Way Galaxy—and those bodies orbiting around it: 8 (formerly 9) planets with more than 210 known planetary satellites (moons);...
Buzz Aldrin
Buzz Aldrin is an American astronaut who was the second person to set foot on the Moon. A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, New York (1951), Aldrin became an air force pilot. He flew 66...
Yuri Gagarin
Yuri Gagarin was a Soviet cosmonaut who in 1961 became the first man to travel into space. The son of a carpenter on a collective farm, Gagarin graduated as a molder from a trade school near Moscow in...
astronaut
Astronaut, designation, derived from the Greek words for “star” and “sailor,” commonly applied to an individual who has flown in outer space. More specifically, in the West, astronaut refers to those from...
optical storage
Optical storage, electronic storage medium that uses low-power laser beams to record and retrieve digital (binary) data. In optical-storage technology, a laser beam encodes digital data onto an optical,...
eclipse
Eclipse, in astronomy, complete or partial obscuring of a celestial body by another. An eclipse occurs when three celestial objects become aligned. From the perspective of a person on Earth, the Sun is...
extrasolar planet
Extrasolar planet, any planetary body that is outside the solar system and that usually orbits a star other than the Sun. Extrasolar planets were first discovered in 1992. More than 5,000 are known, and...
space tourism
Space tourism, recreational space travel, either on established government-owned vehicles such as the Russian Soyuz and the International Space Station (ISS) or on vehicles fielded by private companies....
International Space Station
International Space Station (ISS), space station assembled in low Earth orbit largely by the United States and Russia, with assistance and components from a multinational consortium. The project, which...
John Glenn
John Glenn was the first U.S. astronaut to orbit Earth, completing three orbits in 1962. (Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first person in space, had made a single orbit of Earth in 1961.) Glenn joined...
Michael Collins
Michael Collins was a U.S. astronaut who was the command module pilot of Apollo 11, the first crewed lunar landing mission. A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, Collins transferred...
astronomy
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 17th century,...
planetarium
Planetarium, theatre devoted to popular education and entertainment in astronomy and related fields, especially space science, and traditionally constructed with a hemispheric domed ceiling that is used...
meteoritics
Meteoritics, scientific discipline concerned with meteors and meteorites. The awe-inspiring noise and lights accompanying some meteoric falls convinced early humans that meteorites came from the gods;...