To begin to delve into the DEFINITION OF the term astronomy that we now have before us, we are going to start by revealing its etymological origin. In this case we can indicate that it is the result of the sum of three words that come from Greek:
-The noun “astron”, which can be translated as “star”.
-The name “nomos”, which is equivalent to “norm” or “rule”.
-The suffix “-ia”, which is used to indicate “quality”.
The Astronomy is the science devoted to the study of the characteristics and movements of the heavenly bodies. It should be remembered that a star is a celestial body (that is, an individual and defined astronomical object found in the sky).
The planets, the stars, the dwarf planets, the satellites and asteroids are stars and, therefore, are part of the object of study of astronomy. Human beings have always been interested in these stars and their phenomena: in ancient times, Thales of Miletus, Aristotle, Galileo Galilei and Nicolás Copernicus, among others, developed research that can be inscribed within the framework of astronomy.
It is important not to confuse astronomy with astrology. While astronomy is a science that develops through the scientific method and empirical demonstrations, astrology is part of the group of pseudosciences: its postulates cannot be demonstrated according to scientific criteria.
The study of electromagnetic radiation is one of the main sources of knowledge of astronomy, which appeals to the use of telescopes to visualize astronomical objects. This feature makes any person with a telescope, can make important discoveries in astronomy.
The great historical change occurred astronomy by Copernicus, who postulated that the Earth revolved around the sun. Its discovery changed the view that the Sun orbited around our planet and gave way to the development of modern astronomy.
The stellar astronomy, the galactic astronomy, the optical astronomy and infrared astronomy are some of the branches and specialties of astronomy.
We cannot ignore the fact that it is considered that in 2015 a new type of astronomy was born. Specifically, it is established that on September 14 of that year, the so-called gravitational wave astronomy was launched. And it is that various scientists came across, for the first time, the discovery of a small deformation of space-time. Deformation that was caused by waves that were formed from the merger of two black holes, which were about 1,200 – 1,300 million years old.
Diverse are the organisms that exist in favor of astronomy. This would be the case, for example, of the Spanish Astronomy Society (SEA), which was launched in 1992 and is made up of more than 700 astrophysicists. With its creation and development, what is sought, among other things, is to promote the development of this science as well as to create a space for debate and research around it.
