DICT.TW Dictionary Taiwan

 as·tron·o·my /əˈstrɑnəmi/
 天文學

 As·tron·o·my n.
 1. Astrology. [Obs.]
 Not from the stars do I my judgment pluck;
 And yet methinks I have astronomy.   --Shak.
 2. The science which treats of the celestial bodies, of their magnitudes, motions, distances, periods of revolution, eclipses, constitution, physical condition, and of the causes of their various phenomena.
 3. A treatise on, or text-book of, the science.
 Physical astronomy. See under Physical.
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 astronomy
      n : the branch of physics that studies celestial bodies and the
          universe as a whole [syn: uranology]

 Astronomy
    The Hebrews were devout students of the wonders of the starry
    firmanent (Amos 5:8; Ps. 19). In the Book of Job, which is the
    oldest book of the Bible in all probability, the constellations
    are distinguished and named. Mention is made of the "morning
    star" (Rev. 2:28; comp. Isa. 14:12), the "seven stars" and
    "Pleiades," "Orion," "Arcturus," the "Great Bear" (Amos 5:8; Job
    9:9; 38:31), "the crooked serpent," Draco (Job 26:13), the
    Dioscuri, or Gemini, "Castor and Pollux" (Acts 28:11). The stars
    were called "the host of heaven" (Isa. 40:26; Jer. 33:22).
      The oldest divisions of time were mainly based on the
    observation of the movements of the heavenly bodies, the
    "ordinances of heaven" (Gen. 1:14-18; Job 38:33; Jer. 31:35;
    33:25). Such observations led to the division of the year into
    months and the mapping out of the appearances of the stars into
    twelve portions, which received from the Greeks the name of the
    "zodiac." The word "Mazzaroth" (Job 38:32) means, as the margin
    notes, "the twelve signs" of the zodiac. Astronomical
    observations were also necessary among the Jews in order to the
    fixing of the proper time for sacred ceremonies, the "new
    moons," the "passover," etc. Many allusions are found to the
    display of God's wisdom and power as seen in the starry heavens
    (Ps. 8; 19:1-6; Isa. 51:6, etc.)