Glossary
- astronomy
- The scientific study of the universe
and all it contains, with particular attention to the properties of
celestial objects such as stars, galaxies, et cetera. Astronomy
deals both with the direct observations and with the underlying physics
of these objects (the latter is often called "Astrophysics").
- celestial sphere
- A two-dimensional projection of the night sky surrounding Earth;
that is, a set of coordinates based on the picture of the sky as a
spherical shell around the earth.
- coordinate system
- A system of reference points and relationships which are used to
to place objects with respect to the reference points.
- science
- The process whereby we make observations of some aspect of the
universe, construct models (theories) to explain those observations,
test those models, and refine or replace them through further testing
against the available evidence, in order to learn more about our universe.
Back to The Universal Resource Home Page.