Astronomy

Lexicology

The word astronomy (from the Greek words astron (ἄστρον), "star" and -nomy from nomos (νόμος), "law" or "culture") literally means "law of the stars" (or "culture of the stars" depending on the translation).
Use of terms "astronomy" and "astrophysics"

Generally, either the term "astronomy" or "astrophysics" may be used to refer to this subject.[2][3][4] Based on strict dictionary definitions, "astronomy" refers to "the study of objects and matter outside the Earth's atmosphere and of their physical and chemical properties"[5] and "astrophysics" refers to the branch of astronomy dealing with "the behavior, physical properties, and dynamic processes of celestial objects and phenomena".[6] In some cases, as in the introduction of the introductory textbook The Physical Universe by Frank Shu, "astronomy" may be used to describe the qualitative study of the subject, whereas "astrophysics" is used to describe the physics-oriented version of the subject.[7] However, since most modern astronomical research deals with subjects related to physics, modern astronomy could actually be called astrophysics.[2] Various departments that research this subject may use "astronomy" and "astrophysics", partly depending on whether the department is historically affiliated with a physics department,[3] and many professional astronomers actually have physics degrees.[4] One of the leading scientific journals in the field is named Astronomy and Astrophysics.