astronomy

Definitions

astro (star) + nom (arrangement, law, from Greek nomos) = 'the ordering of the stars.' Astronomy began as the practical work of mapping where each star sits — for calendars and navigation — and grew into the modern science of the cosmos.

Why It Means This

Astronomy and astrology were once the same craft of reading the sky. Over time astronomy kept the measurable part — orbits, distances, light — while astrology split off as the fortune-telling cousin. The split is baked into the suffixes: -nomy ('arranging, ordering') is for the science, -logy ('account, telling') drifted toward the prophecy.

Common Collocations

• 1.study of astronomy天文学研究
• 2.modern astronomy现代天文学

Example Sentences

• 1.

  She fell in love with astronomy after her first look through a telescope.

• 2.

  Modern astronomy relies on telescopes orbiting far above the atmosphere.