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An astronomical instrument is a device for observing, measuring, or recording astronomical data. [citation needed] They are used in the scientific field of astronomy, a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos, with the object of explaining their origin and evolution over time.
Various departments in which scientists carry out research on this subject may use "astronomy" and "astrophysics", partly depending on whether the department is historically affiliated with a physics department, [4] and many professional astronomers have physics rather than astronomy degrees. [5]
The draconitic month, i.e. the mean period with which the path of the Moon against the stars deviates first north and then south in ecliptic latitude by comparison with the ecliptic path of the Sun, was indicated by a number of different parameters leading to various estimates, e.g. of 27.212204 days, [13] to compare with a modern value of 27. ...
Illustration of the use of interferometry in the optical wavelength range to determine precise positions of stars. Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech. Astrometry is a branch of astronomy that involves precise measurements of the positions and movements of stars and other celestial bodies.
Theoretical astronomers use a wide variety of tools which include analytical models (for example, polytropes to approximate the behaviors of a star) and computational numerical simulations. Each has some advantages. Analytical models of a process are generally better for giving insight into the heart of what is going on.
The year 2024 was host to a number of spectacular lunar events, including supermoons, when new or full moons are within 90 percent of their closest approach to Earth, appearing larger and brighter ...
For decades, astronomers have tried to determine how Pluto acquired its unusually large moon Charon, which is about half the size of the dwarf planet. ... Eight of the 10 largest Kuiper Belt ...
More recently, it has also become useful to calculate spacecraft trajectories. Henri Poincaré published two now classical monographs, "New Methods of Celestial Mechanics" (1892–1899) and "Lectures on Celestial Mechanics" (1905–1910). In them, he successfully applied the results of their research to the problem of the motion of three bodies ...