Astronomer and Space Researcher

Introduction

"So if the worth of the arts were measured by the matter with which they deal, this art - which some call astronomy, others astrology, and many of the ancients the consummation of mathematics - would be by far the most outstanding. This art which is as it were the head of all the liberal arts and the one most worthy of a free man leans upon nearly all the other branches of mathematics. Arithmetic, geometry, optics, geodesy, mechanics, and whatever others, all offer themselves in its service."

 

— Nicolaus Copernicus (on the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres), 1543

 

Astronomy is a promising and amazing career for those who are interested in the mysteries of the universe and has a desire to unravel them.

 

Astronomy is the science which deals with the study of heavenly bodies. It considers:

  • their motions, both real and apparent, and the laws which govern those motions
  • their forms, dimensions, masses, and surface features
  • their nature, constitution, and physical condition
  • the effects which they produce upon one another by their attractions and radiations
  • their probable past history and future development.

Astronomy is necessarily an observational science rather than an experimental one. The discussions and interpretation of observations employs the use of mathematical analysis, often of the most advanced type. Celestial bodies and celestial environment provide natural laboratories for studying physical phenomena in extreme conditions which are seldom realized in our terrestrial environment. Physical and mathematical theories are thus stretched to the limit to provide explanations for the celestial phenomena that we observe.

 

Modern astronomy requires the use of most modern and advanced technologies, e.g. in fabrication of modern telescopes, in building imaging and spectroscopic equipment to observe and analyse radiation received from the celestial objects. It needs fast computers, state-of-the-art software to handle data and process images; it needs stable space platforms to observe radiation otherwise blocked by the Earth's atmosphere.

There are many branches of Astronomy

Astrochemistry: A branch of astronomy and chemistry dealing with the chemical composition and evolution of the universe and its parts.

 

Astrogeology: The science dealing with the structure and composition of planets and other bodies in the solar system.

 

Astrometeorology: The study of the theoretical effects of astronomical bodies and forces on the earth’s atmosphere.

 

Astrometry: The branch of astronomy that deals with the measurement of the positions and motions of the celestial bodies.

 

Astrobiology: The study of life beyond the earth’s atmosphere as on the planets.

 

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