Introduction to Astronomy

How to get started as an astronomer

Written By Tim Trott on Monday 8th November 2010 in Astronomy

248 words, estimated reading time 2 minutes.

This tutorial series covers the basics of modern astronomy as a science, including the structure and evolution of planets, stars, galaxies, and the Universe as a whole. We will look at observational astronomy, the magnitude scale, spectroscopy and celestial mechanics.

What is Astronomy?

Astronomy as a science began tens of thousands of years ago by tracking the motion of the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars. It has since developed into a sophisticated study of the fundamental laws of nature governing these phenomena.

The first observations of the heavens were conducted by our early human ancestors. Historical records of astronomical measurements date back as far as Mesopotamia nearly 5000 years ago, with later observations made by the ancient Chinese, Babylonians, and Greeks.

1675 image of a Chinese astronomer with an elaborate armillary sphere.

Astronomy is more than simply a mapping of stars and planets into outlines of gods and magical creatures. It is the scientific study of the contents of entire Universe, stars, planets, comets, asteroids, galaxies, and space and time, as well as its history.

If you're starting out by looking at the sky at night, I have an excellent observational astronomy tutorial series that takes you through what you can see at night as well as some equipment advice. This tutorial series covers mainly theory about how the universe works.

Artists concept of the Milky Way galaxy

In the first tutorial of this series we will look at the celestial sphere and how we locate objects in the sky.

Last updated on: Tuesday 16th January 2018