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the science that deals with the material universe beyond the earth’s atmosphere.
Contemporary Examples

“Occult” literally means “hidden from view,” which is why we use it both in astronomy and to refer to secret knowledge.
Chariklo, a Minor Planet Nicknamed a “Centaur,” Discovered to Have Rings Matthew R. Francis April 5, 2014

After To Die For, Affleck moved to New York and attended Columbia University for two years, majoring in physics and astronomy.
Casey Affleck, Star of ‘Out of the Furnace,’ on His Hollywood Struggles Marlow Stern December 1, 2013

His specialty was astronomy, a subject in which he had made several major discoveries.
Benjamin Franklin, America’s First Storm Chaser Lee Sandlin April 13, 2013

Cosmic ray observations are more challenging than many other forms of astronomy.
The Hottest Spot for Cosmic Rays Matthew R. Francis July 12, 2014

Muslims made many discoveries in mathematics, chemistry, physics, medicine, astronomy and psychology.
‘Gods of Suburbia’: Dina Goldstein’s Arresting Photo Series on Religion vs. Consumerism Dina Goldstein November 7, 2014

Historical Examples

He was a proficient scholar in Greek and Hebrew, in mathematics, astronomy and chemistry.
A Popular History of the Art of Music W. S. B. Mathews

Socrates taught Xenophon and Plato geography, astronomy, and the use of the globes.
The Comic Latin Grammar Percival Leigh

Plato touched on astronomy, for he touches on everything, and fully believed that the earth was round.
Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great – Volume 12 Elbert Hubbard

The practical utilities of astronomy were also obvious in primeval times.
Great Astronomers R. S. Ball

My favorite pursuit, after my daily excursions at the foundry, was astronomy.
Stories of Invention Edward E. Hale

noun
the scientific study of the individual celestial bodies (excluding the earth) and of the universe as a whole. Its various branches include astrometry, astrodynamics, cosmology, and astrophysics
n.

c.1200, from Old French astrenomie, from Latin astronomia, from Greek astronomia, literally “star arrangement,” from astron “star” (see astro-) + nomos “arranging, regulating,” related to nemein “to deal out” (see numismatics). Used earlier than astrology and originally including it.
astronomy
(ə-strŏn’ə-mē)
The scientific study of the universe and the objects in it, including stars, planets, nebulae, and galaxies. Astronomy deals with the position, size, motion, composition, energy, and evolution of celestial objects. Astronomers analyze not only visible light but also radio waves, x-rays, and other ranges of radiation that come from sources outside the Earth’s atmosphere.

The science that deals with the universe beyond the Earth. It describes the nature, position, and motion of the stars, planets, and other objects in the skies, and their relation to the Earth.

The Hebrews were devout students of the wonders of the starry firmanent (Amos 5:8; Ps. 19). In the Book of Job, which is the oldest book of the Bible in all probability, the constellations are distinguished and named. Mention is made of the “morning star” (Rev. 2:28; comp. Isa. 14:12), the “seven stars” and “Pleiades,” “Orion,” “Arcturus,” the “Great Bear” (Amos 5:8; Job 9:9; 38:31), “the crooked serpent,” Draco (Job 26:13), the Dioscuri, or Gemini, “Castor and Pollux” (Acts 28:11). The stars were called “the host of heaven” (Isa. 40:26; Jer. 33:22). The oldest divisions of time were mainly based on the observation of the movements of the heavenly bodies, the “ordinances of heaven” (Gen. 1:14-18; Job 38:33; Jer. 31:35; 33:25). Such observations led to the division of the year into months and the mapping out of the appearances of the stars into twelve portions, which received from the Greeks the name of the “zodiac.” The word “Mazzaroth” (Job 38:32) means, as the margin notes, “the twelve signs” of the zodiac. Astronomical observations were also necessary among the Jews in order to the fixing of the proper time for sacred ceremonies, the “new moons,” the “passover,” etc. Many allusions are found to the display of God’s wisdom and power as seen in the starry heavens (Ps. 8; 19:1-6; Isa. 51:6, etc.)