Outline of astronomy

Mauna Kea in Hawaii is one of the world's premier observatory sites. Pictured is the W. M. Keck Observatory, an optical interferometer.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to astronomy:

Astronomy – studies the universe beyond Earth, including its formation and development, and the evolution, physics, chemistry, meteorology, and motion of celestial objects (such as galaxies, planets, etc.) and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth (such as the cosmic background radiation). Astronomy also intersect with biology, as astrobiology, studying potential life throughout the universe.

Nature of astronomy

Astronomy can be described as all the following:

Branches of astronomy

History of astronomy

Basic astronomical phenomena

Astronomical objects

Astronomical object

Solar System

The Sun, the planets, their moons, and several trans-Neptunian objectsThe SunMercuryVenusThe MoonEarthMarsPhobos and DeimosCeresThe main asteroid beltJupiterMoons of JupiterRings of JupiterSaturnMoons of SaturnRings of SaturnUranusMoons of UranusRings of UranusNeptuneMoons of NeptuneRings of NeptunePlutoMoons of PlutoHaumeaMoons of HaumeaMakemakeS/2015 (136472) 1The Kuiper BeltErisDysnomiaThe Scattered DiscThe Hills CloudThe Oort Cloud

Sun

Planets

Small Solar System bodies

Exoplanets

  • Exoplanet (also known as extrasolar planets) – planet outside the Solar System. A total of 4,341 such planets have been identified as of 28 Jan 2021.
    • Super-Earth – exoplanet with a mass higher than Earth's, but substantially below those of the Solar System's ice giants.
    • Mini-Neptune – also known as a gas dwarf or transitional planet. A planet up to 10 Earth masses, but less massive than Uranus and Neptune.
    • Super-Jupiter – an exoplanet more massive than Jupiter.
    • Sub-Earth – an exoplanet "substantially less massive" than Earth and Venus.
    • Circumbinary planet – an exoplanet that orbits two stars.
    • Hot Jupiter – an exoplanet whose characteristics are similar to Jupiter, but that have high surface temperatures because they orbit very close to their parent stars, whereas Jupiter orbits its parent star (the Sun) at 5.2 AU (780×106 km), causing low surface temperatures.
    • Hot Neptune – an exoplanet in an orbit close to its star (normally less than one astronomical unit away), with a mass similar to that of Uranus or Neptune.
    • Pulsar planet – a planet that orbits a pulsar or a rapidly rotating neutron star.
    • Rogue planet (also known as an interstellar planet) – a planetary-mass object that orbits the galaxy directly.

Stars and stellar objects

Stars

Variable stars

Supernovae

Black holes

Artist's representation of a black hole.

Constellations

The 88 modern constellations

Constellation history

The 48 constellations listed by Ptolemy after 150 AD
The 41 additional constellations added in the 16th and 17th centuries
Obsolete constellations including Ptolemy's Argo Navis

Clusters and nebulae

Galaxies

Cosmology

Space exploration

See: Outline of space exploration

Organizations

Public sector space agencies

Space agencies

Africa
North Africa
Sub-Saharan
North America
South America
Asia
East Asia
Southeast Asia
South Asia
Southwest Asia
Central Asia
Europe
Oceania
World

1 Preceded by the Soviet space program

Books and publications

Astronomers

See also


This page was last updated at 2023-12-13 18:03 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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