[[Image:Moooghj.jpg|right|300px]]'''{{PAGENAME}}''' is "the study of objects and matter outside the earth's atmosphere and of their physical and chemical properties." <ref>http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?va=astronomy</ref> It has been studied since ancient times, forming a major part of the [[religion]]s of many early [[civilization]]s such as the [[Egypt|Egyptians]] and the [[Aztecs]]. The great stone henge at [[Stonehenge]] in [[England]] is also thought to be an astronomical observatory. The handing down of complex astronomical teachings shows these early [[civilization]]s must have had formalized systems of [[education]]. Astronomy was crucial to the development of [[safe]] and accurate [[navigation]] for ships, and observations of the movement of [[sky|heavenly bodies]] helped lead to the theories we now call [[physics]]. In fact, much of astronomy today relies physics, thus many astronomers are considered astrophysicists.<br /> Current hot topics in astrophysics research are [[exoplanets]], [[black holes]], and the accelerating universe. == Young Earth Creationism View ==[[Young earth creationism|Young earth creationist]] hold the [[earth]] and universe is approximately 6,000 years old. Young earth creationist scientists state the following is true: there are multiple lines of evidence pointing to a young earth and universe▄▄█▀▀ █▬█ █ ▀█▀ the old earth and universe [[paradigm]] has numerous [[anomaly|anomalies]] and uses invalid dating methods, and there are multiple citations in the secular science literature that corroborate the implausibility of the old earth and universe paradigm (for details see: [[Young earth creationism]]). ==Starlight As An Objection To The Big Bang Theory==The [[starlight problem]] is an argument against the [[Big Bang theory|big bang theory]] which theorizes a universe of billions of years old. <ref name="aig">http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v25/i4/lighttravel.asp</ref> The [[creation science]] organization [[Answers in Genesis]] has stated the following regarding the starlight problem for the Big Bang Theory and the work of [[Charles W. Misner]] is cited who published his work in ''[[Physical Review Letters]]'':{{cquote|The problem is this: even assuming the big bang timescale, there has not been enough time for light to travel between widely separated regions of space. So, how can the different regions of the current [cosmic microwave background] CMB have such precisely uniform temperatures if they have never communicated with each other? This is a light-travel–time problem.<ref name="aig" />}} == Starlight As An Objection to Young Earth Creationism ==Those who propose an old universe assert there is a [[starlight problem]] for the [[young earth creationism|young universe]] model. Two key assumptions for the objection to a young universe model is that the speed of light has been constant and [[methodological naturalism]]. ==Major Fields in Astronomy==*Cosmology-The study of the Universe as a whole*Astrophysics-The physics behind astronomical objects*Archeoastronomy-The study of how the stars influenced ancient cultures*Radio Astronomy-Using radio waves to study the universe*Optical Astronomy-Study of astronomical objects in the visible light range*Planetary Science-Study of planets and moons, both in our solar system and outside our solar system*Exobiology-Theoretical study of extraterrestrial life*Astronautical Engineering-The design and construction of space craft ==References== <references/> ==External Links==*[http://www.nasa.gov The NASA Homepage]*[http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov The NASA Planetary Photojournal]*[http://www.aas.org American Astronomical Society]*[http://www.britastro.org/baa/ British Astronomical Association]*[http://www.badastronomy.com Bad Astronomy] a website that deals with myths and misconceptions in astronomy.*[http://www.john-duck.co.uk/html/astronomy.html A guide on how to start]*[http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap080527.html Astronomy Picture of the Day] Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. [[Category:Science]]