'Astronomical objects' are significant
physical entities, associations or structures which current
science has confirmed to exist in
space. This does not necessarily mean that more current science will not disprove their existence. Some astronomical objects, such as
Themis and
Neith are, in light of more recent findings, considered not to exist at all. Others, like
Pluto and
Ceres, prove to be of an entirely different nature than first expected. In these cases, the
scientific community must come to a consensus as to the new status of these objects. Obviously, not all scientists will agree; this gives birth to
fringe science. However, fringe science is not always
bad science. Some of our most fundamental
scientific theories, such as the
superstring theory and
plate tectonics, were once considered fringe. Even in the
mainstream community, new ideas are constantly changing the way we view the universe at large. Astronomical objects thought to exist based on scientific evidence are considered
hypothetical..
Astronomical objects can be easily confused with "'astronomical bodies'". The term "body" indicates a simple object, such as a
planet. These terms differ from "'celestial objects'" and "'celestial bodies'" only in that the latter terms do not include the
Earth. The table below lists the general categories of objects by their location or structure.
See also
★
List of solar system objects
★
Lists of astronomical objects
★
List of light sources
العربية
中国
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिन्दी
Italiano
日本語
Português
Русский
Español
