Portal:Astronomy

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Astronomy is the scientific study of matter in outer space with the goal of determining or measuring factors such as distances, positions, dimensions, distribution, magnitudes, motion, composition, physical condition, energy, evolution, and the causes of their various phenomena. At present astronomy while making some important discoveries is still in its infancy in terms of gaining depth of understanding and some would argue has many errant notions.

Important branches in this discipline include astrophysics and cosmology. Astrophysics is a branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of stellar phenomena. Cosmology is the study of the origin, current state, and future of the cosmos. Astrophysical measurements and analysis are used to understand the cosmological history, structure, and constituent dynamics of our universe.

Dark energy

Dark energy is one of two concepts (the other is dark matter) that Big Bang cosmologists and astrophysicists have invented to explain the most serious differences to date between astronomical observations of an expanding universe and their own expectations. It is "the most popular way to explain recent observations that the universe appears to be expanding at an accelerating rate";[1] Astronomers and cosmologists have been speculating on the nature of this dark energy for ten years.

Explanation: Big, beautiful, barred spiral galaxy NGC 1300 lies some 70 million light-years away on the banks of the constellation Eridanus. NGC 1300 spans over 100,000 light-years and the Hubble image reveals striking details of the galaxy's dominant central bar and majestic spiral arms. In fact, on close inspection the nucleus of this classic barred spiral itself shows a remarkable region of spiral structure about 3,000 light-years across. Unlike other spiral galaxies, including our own Milky Way, NGC 1300 is not presently known to have a massive central black hole.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration began on October 1, 19581 October 1958 17 Tishrei 5719 H 18 Eitanim 6117 AM, by an act of the United States Congress to establish an American presence in outer space. Today it is the foremost among government agencies that manage space programs, and is credited with some of the most exciting and surprising astronomical discoveries ever made.

“We cannot even show convincingly how galaxies, stars, planets, and life arose in the present universe.” Michael Rowan-Robinson, “Review of the Accidental Universe,” New Scientist, Vol. 97, 20 January 1983, p. 186.[1]

“The problem of explaining the existence of galaxies has proved to be one of the thorniest in cosmology. By all rights, they just shouldn’t be there, yet there they sit. It’s hard to convey the depth of frustration that this simple fact induces among scientists.” James Trefil, The Dark Side of the Universe. A Scientist Explores the Mysteries of the Cosmos, New York Charles Scibner's Sons: 1988, page 55.

“We don’t understand how a single star forms, yet we want to understand how 10 billion stars form.” Carlos Frenk, as quoted by Robert Irion, “Surveys Scour the Cosmic Deep,” Science, Vol. 303, 19 March 2004, p. 1750.

Astronomy • Astronomy group • Astrophysics • Cosmic chronology • Cosmology • Dwarf planet • Galaxy • Moon • Nebula • Planet • Rocket probe • Solar system • Space mission • Cosmology book • Cosmology video

Apoapsis • Axial tilt • Circumference • Dwarf planet mass • Dwarf planet surface area • Equatorial radius • Escape speed • Inclination • Land area • Lunar mass • Lunar surface area • Maximum temperature • Mean orbital radius • Mean radius • Mean temperature • Minimum temperature • Orbital eccentricity • Orbital speed • Periapsis • Planet density • Planet mass • Planet surface area • Polar radius • Primary • Rotation speed • Satellite • Semi-major axis • Sidereal day • Sidereal period • Solar day • Stellar mass • Stellar surface area • Surface gravity • Synodic period • Water area

A, Albedo, Anthropic principle, Apsis, Ariel, Asteroid, Astronomy, Astronomy and the Bible, Astronomy Book, The, Astronomy quotes, Astrophysics, Axial tilt, B, Big bang, Black hole, C, C-type asteroid, Callisto, Ceres, Charon, Comet, Copernican principle, Cosmic background radiation, Cosmic center, Cosmic chronology, Cosmology, Cosmos, Creation in secular journal (cosmology), Creation cosmology, D, Dark energy, Dark matter, Day, Days of creation, Deimos, Dione, Dwarf planet, Dysnomia, E, Earth, Enceladus, Equinox, Equinox precession, Eris, Escape speed, Essay:Victorious Biblical Astronomy, Extraterrestrial life, Europa, Evolution, F, First light, Four firmaments, 4th Day Alliance, G, Galactocentricity, Galaxy, Ganymede, Gas giant, Geocentricity, Geomagnetic field decay, Geomagnetic reversal, Geomagnetism, God and Cosmos, Gravitational lens, Gravitational time dilation, H, Heaven, Heliocentricity, Helioseismology, Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble's Law, Hydra, Hyperion, I, Iapetus, Impact crater, Inclination, International Space Station, Io, J, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Jupiter, K, Kuiper belt, L, Lunar eclipse, M, M-type asteroids, Magnetosphere, Major asteroids, Mars, Mass, Mercury, Meteorite, Mimas, Miranda, Moon, Moon is receding at a rate too fast for an old universe, Moon recession, N, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Nebula, Nebula theory, Nemesis, Neptune, Nereid, Nix, Nuclear fusion, O, Oberon, Orbit, Orbital eccentricity, Orbital period, Oort cloud, Our Created Moon, P, Phobos, Planet, Planet-moon system, Pluto, Q, Quasar, R, Redshift, Redshift quantization, Retrograde motion, Rhea, Rotation, Rotation speed, S, S-type asteroids, Saturn, Scattered disk, Sedna, Semi-major axis, Snowball earth, Solar flare, Solar system, Solar wind, Speed of light, Star, Starlight and Time, Starlight, Time and the New Physics, Star formation, Star of Bethlehem, Stellar evolution, Stellar measurement, Sun, Supernova, Supernova remnant, Surface area, T, Temperature, Terrestrial planet, Tethys, The Astronomy Book, The Witness of the Stars, Tidal lock, Titan, Titania, Titius-Bode Law, Trans-Neptunian Objects, Transient lunar phenomena, Triton, U, Umbriel, Universe, Universe by Design, Uranus, V, Venus, Voyager 2, Vulcan, W, White hole cosmology, Y, Young earth evidence, Young solar system evidence, Young universe evidence

S Same evidence with different worldviews V Victorious Biblical Astronomy

Contribute to astronomy-related articles that need further development.

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Write descriptive articles for celestial bodies.

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Wanted articles:

• No place like home: Our lonesome solar system by Lee Billings. May 11, 2011
• Gliese 581g, Newly Found 'Habitable' Planet, May Not Exist Francesco Pepe, who works with the Geneva Observatory and used the HARPS instrument on the La Silla telescope at the European Southern Observatory in Chile, said he and his team could not find the planet or confirm its existence. Epoch Time, Oct 12, 2010.
• Freshly Discovered Earth-Like Planet Orbiting Nearby Star Could Be the First Truly Habitable Exoplanet A couple of math geeks recently calculated that the discovery of the first “habitable” exoplanet would be announced in May of next year -- but a few stargazers from UC Santa Cruz and their colleagues simply couldn’t wait that long. By Clay Dillow Posted 09.29.2010. Popular Science.
• Big Bang Was Followed by Chaos, Mathematical Analysis Shows Seven years ago Northwestern University physicist Adilson E. Motter conjectured that the expansion of the universe at the time of the big bang was highly chaotic. Now he and a colleague have proven it using rigorous mathematical arguments. ScienceDaily. Sep. 8, 2010.
• Stephen Hawking says universe not created by God Physics, not creator, made Big Bang, new book claims. Professor had previously referred to 'mind of God'. guardian.co.uk. September 2, 2010
• Fate of Universe revealed by galactic lens Researchers conclude that the Universe will probably expand forever ending in a dead wasteland with a temperature approaching what scientists term ‘absolute zero’. BBC News, 19 August 19, 2010
• Search for Intelligent Aliens Takes Center Stage This Weekend at SETIcon SETI Institute celebrates the 50th anniversary of its mission to scan the universe for signs of intelligent extraterrestrial life. Space.com, August 12 2010.
• Chlorine study suggests moon is dry after all The moon's interior may not be that wet after all, despite some recent studies that have suggested otherwise. A new analysis of Apollo rocks backs the old idea of a waterless world. NewScientist. August 2010. [1]
• Nemesis reconsidered. An astrophysicist and a paleontologist, after re-examining the fossil record, now propose abandoning the Nemesis hypothesis, on the theory that any companion star to the Sun ought to have had its orbit changed in the last 500 million years and thus could not have caused extinction-level events as regularly as clockwork during that time. Solar and Stellar Astrophysics. July 2, 2010.
• Evidence for dark matter and energy found lacking. A team of astronomers at Durham University (UK) re-examined the data from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) and found that previously-described evidence for an acceleration effect due to dark energy is nothing more than an error of measurement. Creationism Examiner. June 15, 2010.
• 'Dark' matter and energy 'proof' exaggerated—again. Astronomers find the same apparent ratio of "dynamical" to "luminous" mass at the edge of the universe as near to us. As ever, they insist that this somehow "proves" the existence of "dark matter"—when in fact it proves no such thing. Creationism Examiner, 26 January 2010