Astronomy [ə-'strŏ-nə-'mē]

The study of everything in space beyond the Earth's atmosphere.

Humans look up into the sky because it is such a fascinating place. After Galileo's invention of the optical telescope, scientists discovered new planets, moons, stars, and galaxies. And with the invention of new instruments such as infrared and radio telescopes and our ability to launch vehicles and instruments into space, we've discovered amazing new objects such as black holes and supernovae as well as new facts about more familiar objects such as asteroids and comets.

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