Astronomy is the science dealing with all the celestial objects in the universe, including the planets and their satellites (e.g. our Earth and the moon), comets and meteors, the stars (including our sun), and interstellar matter, the star systems known as galaxies, and clusters of galaxies.
Ancient peoples watched the stars and memorised their positions relative to each other by visualising constellations - shapes which suggested to them mythical figures. If a new star appeared its position was noted on a star map. The first comet was recorded this way, over 2,000 years ago.
Today, astronomers use telescopes (optical, radio, and others) to study stars, planets, and galaxies. Astronomers are scientists who study all the objects in the universe, such as stars, planets, and Galaxies. They use ground-based telescopes of many kinds, launch space probes that visit the other planets in the solar system, and send satellites into space to study the universe from high above the Earth's atmosphere.
Astronomy analyses the radiation received on Earth or its vicinity, from the constituent parts of the Universe. For most of man's history, the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum was the sole medium used for astronomical observation, and the human eye was the only receiver. The invention of the optical telescope greatly enhanced our view of the night sky, revealing spectacular details of the Moon and planets, and masses of previously unseen stars and nebulae.
Instruments such as photometers (which measure light intensity) and spectrometers (which split light into its spectrum, or constituent colors), have made the physical study of stars possible, leading to knowledge of their nature, structure, and evolution. These instruments, and photographic plates and electronic imaging devices (e.g. charge-coupled detectors, or CCDs - now used in the consumer market such as in digital cameras) have made possible the field known as astrophysics - the aplication of physics to astronomy, and have extended the range of the accessible spectrum outside the visible portion.
Astronomers are no longer limited to the visible or near-visible spectrum. Radio telescopes, invented in the 1930s, and the discoveries they made have revolutionised astronomy, and thanks to space technology, we now have access to the whole electromagnetic spectrum, as well as particles from the Sun and other objects. Spacecraft carry telescopes and other astronomical instruments above the Earth's atmosphere, and to other planets in our solar system. This has created whole new branches of astronomy such as X-ray and Gamma-ray astronomy.
It used to be that most children's imagination would be captivated by the night sky - how many stars are there, how far away are they, could they have inhabited planets? Perhaps they still are captivated, if light pollution and video games haven't gotten in the way.. A popular solar system toy is the Motorised Solar System, which shows the planets orbiting the sun (anti-clockwise from above). For the more advanced astronomer, we recommend the Star Maps from Celestron. Nothing recommends a product better than "we use it ourselves" - and until recently, we had the Giant Solar System Mobile hanging in our living room. We took it down after buying a Wii and hitting it too often...now it's hanging in my office.
Our Large Fergusson's Orrery is a beautifully hand made working representation of the Solar System out to Saturn. It can be run on the electric motor which will reproduce a one year cycle every 5 minutes, or hand cranked. Set in a stained American White Oak case the mechanism is produced in brass and hand assembled in a workshop in Berkshire.
The Copernican Orrery kit assembles to make a working model of the Solar System including Mercury, Venus and the Earth and Moon. It shows the relative movements of the planets around the Sun, and the Moon around the Earth. The Sun contains a light source which can be used to demonstrate how night and day, the phases of the Moon and the seasons are produced.
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