Astronomer

An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial objects and phenomena beyond Earth's atmosphere, including stars, planets, galaxies, nebulae, and the cosmic background. The goal is to understand the origin, structure, dynamics, and evolution of the universe, as well as the physical processes that govern astronomical systems. Astronomy combines observation, theory, and often experiment to build testable explanations of what is observed.

Astronomers work in universities, national laboratories, observatories, space agencies, and research institutes. Most research positions require a doctoral degree in astronomy, astrophysics, or physics, with strong training in mathematics, computer science, and data analysis. They design and conduct observations, analyze large data sets, develop models, and publish findings.

Subfields include observational astronomy, theoretical and computational astrophysics, cosmology, planetary science, stellar astronomy, galactic and extragalactic astronomy, and high-energy astronomy across radio, infrared, optical, ultraviolet, X-ray, and gamma-ray wavelengths. Specialized tools include ground-based telescopes, space telescopes, spectrographs, cameras, interferometers, and simulations.

Major surveys and facilities such as the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, Gaia, the Hubble Space Telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope, ALMA, and various large optical and radio observatories support contemporary research.

Modern astronomy relies on data-intensive techniques, statistics, and computer simulations. The field continues to advance with new instrumentation, international collaborations, and discoveries about dark matter, dark energy, exoplanets, and the early universe.