* Astrology and Astronomy were often indistinguishable before the modern era: With the desire for predictive and divinatory knowledge one of the primary motivating factors for astronomical observation. Astronomy began to diverge from astrology after a period of gradual separation from the Renaissance up until the 18Th century. Eventually, astronomy distinguished itself as the scientific study of astronomical objects and phenomena without regard to the astrological speculation of these phenomena. Astronomical: extraordinarily large having to to with Astrology.

* Is often defined as the study of the influences of the cosmos on life on earth: Astrology: the study of the influence of stars on human affairs. Astrophysics: the science of the physical properties and chemical composition of heavenly bodies. Modern astrologers define astrology as a symbolic language, an art form, and a form of divination. Despite differences of definitions, a common assumption of astrology is the use of celestial placements in order to explain past and present events and predict the future. The scientific community considers astrology a pseudoscience or superstition as no scientific evidence has been found to support its claims. Belief in astrology remains widespread in the general public, with 31% of Americans believing in it and according to another study 39% considering it scientific. It is concerned with the evolution, physics, chemistry, meteorology, and motion of celestial objects, as well as the formation and development of the universe.

* Medical Astrology (traditionally known as Iatromathematics): Is an ancient medical system that associates various parts of the body, diseases and drugs as under the influence of the Sun, Moon and planets, along with the twelve astrological signs. Each of the astrological signs (along with the Sun, Moon, and planets) are associated with different parts of the human body. Also, many plants are referred to in old treatises on herbs as being "under the influence of" some planet. This was used as a codification of associations of the signs with the parts of the body are as follows:

* Astronomer: One who gazes at the stars. Professional astronomers are highly educated individuals who typically have a PhD in physics or astronomy and are employed by research institutions or universities. They spend the majority of their time working on research, although they quite often have other duties such as teaching, building instruments, or aiding in the operation of an observatory. The number of professional astronomers in the United States is actually quite small. The American Astronomical Society, which is the major organization of professional astronomers in North America, has approximately 6500 members. This number includes scientists from other fields, such as physics, geology, and engineering, whose research interests are closely related to astronomy. The International Astronomical Union comprises almost 10,000 members from 87 different countries who are involved in astronomical research at the PhD level and beyond.

* Astronomy: The science of heavenly bodies. Astronomy is the scientific study of celestial objects (such as stars, planets, comets, and galaxies) and phenomena that originate outside the Earth's atmosphere (such as the cosmic background radiation). Astronomy is one of the oldest sciences. Astronomers of early civilizations performed methodical observations of the night sky, and astronomical artifacts have been found from much earlier periods. However, the invention of the telescope was required before astronomy was able to develop into a modern science. Historically, astronomy has included disciplines as diverse as astrometry, celestial navigation, observational astronomy, the making of calendars, and even astrology, but professional astronomy is nowadays often considered to be synonymous with astrophysics. Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using physical laws. Today, that distinction has mostly disappeared.

* Since the 20Th century: The field of professional astronomy split into observational and theoretical branches. Observational astronomy is focused on acquiring and analyzing data, mainly using basic principles of physics. Theoretical astronomy is oriented towards the development of computer or analytical models to describe astronomical objects and phenomena. The two fields complement each other, with theoretical astronomy seeking to explain the observational results, and observations being used to confirm theoretical results. Amateur astronomers have contributed to many important astronomical discoveries, and astronomy is one of the few sciences where amateurs can still play an active role, especially in the discovery and observation of transient phenomena.

* Old or even ancient astronomy is not to be confused with astrology: The belief system that claims that human affairs are correlated with the positions of celestial objects. Although the two fields share a common origin and a part of their methods (namely, the use of ephemerides), they are distinct.

* In Astronomy Equinox: Can have two meanings: The moment when the Sun is positioned directly over the Earth's equator and, by extension, the apparent position of the Sun at that moment. The time at which the vernal point, celestial equator, and other such elements are taken to be used in the definition of a celestial coordinate system.

* Equinox: Is that moment in time (not a whole day) when the center of the Sun can be observed to be directly above the Earth's equator, occurring around March 20 and September 23 each year. More technically, at an equinox, the Sun is at one of two opposite points on the celestial sphere where the celestial equator (i.e. declination 0) and ecliptic intersect. These points of intersection are called equinoctial points—the vernal point and the autumnal point. By extension, the term equinox may be used to denote an equinoctial point. There is either an equinox (autumn and spring) or a solstice (summer and winter) on approximately the 21st day of the last month of every quarter of the calendar year. On a day which has an equinox, the center of the Sun will spend a nearly equal amount of time above and below the horizon at every location on Earth and night and day will be of nearly the same length. The word equinox derives from the Latin words aequus (equal) and nox (night).

* Solstices: Occur twice a year, when the tilt of the Earth's axis is oriented directly towards or away from the Sun, causing the Sun to appear to reach its northernmost and southernmost extremes. The name is derived from the Latin sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still), because at the solstices, the Sun stands still in declination; that is, its apparent movement north or south comes to a standstill. The term solstice can also be used in a wider sense, as the date (day) that such a passage happens. The solstices, together with the equinoxes, are connected with the seasons. In some languages they are considered to start or separate the seasons; in others they are considered to be centre points (in English, in the Northern hemisphere, for example, the period around the June solstice is known as midsummer, and Midsummer's Day is 24 June, about three days after the solstice itself).

* Use of terms "astronomy" and "astrophysics": Generally, either the term "astronomy" or "astrophysics" may be used to refer to this subject. 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" and "astrophysics" refers to the branch of astronomy dealing with "the behavior, physical properties, and dynamic processes of celestial objects and phenomena". 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. However, since most modern astronomical research deals with subjects related to physics, modern astronomy could actually be called astrophysics. Various departments that research this subject may use "astronomy" and "astrophysics", partly depending on whether the department is historically affiliated with a physics department, and many professional astronomers actually have physics degrees. Even the name of the scientific journal Astronomy & Astrophysics reveals the ambiguity of the use of the term.

* Astrogenetics: Is a subject dealing with the influence of planetary motion and astrological influences on human birth and health. This is part of Indian Ayurveda of centuries old. Ayurveda translates as science of life is normally a subject dealing with health of not only individuals but also all life forms. It covers cure and prevention of diseases. It also contains extensive material about maintenance of health and development of human beings. It also has material which had sections of development or upgradation of life form which may be astounding to present generations. They had texts explaining change of sex called pumsavana whereby a fetus can be converted from a male to female during pregnancy, vice versa.

* Astrophysics: Is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties (luminosity, density, temperature, and chemical composition) of celestial objects such as stars, galaxies, and the interstellar medium, as well as their interactions. The study of cosmology is theoretical astrophysics at the largest scales where Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity plays a major role. Because astrophysics is a very broad subject, astrophysicists typically apply many disciplines of physics, including mechanics, electromagnetism, statistical mechanics, thermodynamics, quantum mechanics, relativity, nuclear and particle physics, and atomic and molecular physics. In practice, modern astronomical research involves a substantial amount of physics. The name of a university's department ("astrophysics" or "astronomy") often has to do more with the department's history than with the contents of the programs. Astrophysics can be studied at the bachelors, masters, and Ph.D. levels in aerospace engineering, physics, or astronomy departments at many universities.

* A Constellation: Is a group of stars that are connected together to form a figure or picture. The term is also traditionally and less formally used to mean any group of stars visibly related to each other, if they are considered as a fixed configuration or pattern in a particular culture.

* Some well-known constellations contain striking and familiar patterns of bright stars: Examples are Orion (containing a figure of a hunter), Leo (containing bright stars outlining the form of a lion), Scorpius (a scorpion), and Crux (a cross). The International Astronomical Union (IAU) divides the sky into 88 official constellations with exact boundaries, so that every direction or place in the sky belongs within one constellation.

* In the northern celestial hemisphere:These are mostly based upon the constellations of the ancient Greek tradition, passed down through the Middle Ages, and contains the signs of the zodiac. The sun appears to pass through the 12 constellations of the zodiac and ancient Greek astronomers believed they had a special significance. The constellation boundaries were drawn up by Eugène Delporte in 1930, and he drew them along vertical and horizontal lines of right ascension and declination. However, he did so for the epoch B1875.0, the era when Benjamin A. Gould made the proposal on which Delporte based his work. The consequence of the early date is that due to precession of the equinoxes, the borders on a modern star map (eg, for epoch J2000) are already somewhat skewed and no longer perfectly vertical or horizontal. This skew will increase over the years and centuries to come.

* In three-dimensional space:Most of the stars we see have little or no relation to one another, but can appear to be grouped on the celestial sphere of the night sky. A star pattern may be widely known but may not be recognized by the International Astronomical Union; such a pattern of stars is called an asterism. An example is the grouping called the Big Dipper (North America) or the Plough (UK). The stars in a constellation or asterism rarely have any astrophysical relationship to each other; they just happen to appear close together in the sky as viewed from Earth and typically lie many light-years apart in space. However, one exception to this is the Ursa Major moving group. The grouping of stars into constellations is essentially arbitrary, and different cultures have had different constellations, although a few of the more obvious ones tend to recur frequently, e.g., Orion and Scorpius.

* A Horoscope: Is a chart or diagram representing the positions of the Sun, Moon, planets, the astrological aspects, and sensitive angles at the time of an event, such as the moment of a person's birth. The word horoscope is derived from Greek words meaning "a look at the hours" (horoskopos, pl. horoskopoi, or "marker(s) of the hour.") Other commonly used names for the horoscope in English include astrological chart, astro-chart, celestial map, sky-map, star-chart, cosmogram, vitasphere, radical chart, radix, chart wheel, or simply chart. It is used as a method of divination regarding events relating to the point in time it represents and forms the basis of the horoscopic traditions of astrology.

* In common usage, horoscope often refers to an astrologer's interpretation:Usually through a system of Sun sign astrology. In particular, many newspapers and magazines carry predictive columns based on celestial influences in relation to the zodiacal placement of the Sun on the day of a person's birth, identifying the individual's Sun sign or "star sign." This system is distinct from horoscopes as traditionally employed, as only the zodiacal placement of the Sun is considered in interpretation. While this modern usage is perhaps the most popular in the colloquial lexicon, this article will focus primarily on the traditional concept.

* The horoscope serves as a stylized map: Of the heavens over a specific location at a particular moment in time. In most applications the perspective is geocentric (heliocentric astrology being one exception). The positions of the actual planets (including Sun and Moon) are placed in the chart, along with those of purely calculated factors such as the lunar nodes, the house cusps including the midheaven and the ascendant, zodiac signs, fixed stars and the lots. Angular relationships between the planets themselves and other points, called aspects, are typically determined. Which elements are used or emphasized over others varies by tradition.

* The English word via French horoscope derives from Latin horoscopus: Ultimately from Greek "nativity, horoscope", literally "observer of the hour [of birth]", from "time, hour" and "observer, watcher". In Middle English texts from the 11th century, the word appears in the Latin form, and is anglicized to horoscope in Early Modern English. The noun horoscopy for "casting of horoscopes" is in use since the 17th century (OED). In Greek, in the sense of "ascendant" and "observation of the ascendant" is in use since Ptolemy (Tetrabiblos 33, 75).

* Zodiac: Denotes an annual cycle of twelve stations along the ecliptic, the apparent path of the sun across the heavens through the constellations that divide the ecliptic into twelve equal zones of celestial longitude. The zodiac is recognized as the first known celestial coordinate system. There are two independently-created zodiacs from which the modern Western world derived its understanding of zodiac systems.

* Babylonian Astrology: Inherited by astrology, developed the zodiac of twelve signs familiar in the West. The etymology of the term zodiac comes from the Latin z?diacus, meaning "circle of animals", derived from the diminutive of "animal". However, the classical Greek zodiac also includes signs (also constellations) that are not represented by animals (e.g., Libra, Virgo, Gemini). Another suggested etymology is that the Greek term is cognate with the Sanskrit sodi, denoting "a path", i.e., the path through which the Sun travels. The zodiac also means a region of the celestial sphere that includes a band of eight arc degrees above and below the ecliptic, and therefore encompasses the paths of the Moon and the naked eye planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn). The classical astronomers called these planets wandering stars to differentiate them from the fixed stars of the celestial sphere (Ptolemy). Astrologers understood the movement of the planets and the Sun through the zodiac as a means of explaining and predicting events on Earth.

* Auroras (Polar Lights; or aurorae, sing.: aurora): Are natural different colored light displays, which are usually observed in the night sky, particularly in the polar zone. Some scientists therefore call them "polar auroras" (or "aurorae polaris"). Auroras: Flashes of light seen in the night ski, especially, near the poles. Electrons, protons and solar radiation culiding with Earth's magnetic field. The collisions in the atmosphere electronically excite atoms and molecules in the upper atmosphere. The excitation energy can be lost by light emission or collisions. Most aurorae are green and red emission from atomic oxygen. Molecular nitrogen and nitrogen ions produce some low level red and very high blue/violet aurorae.

* In northern latitudes, it is known as the aurora borealis: named after the Roman goddess of the dawn, Aurora, and the Greek name for north wind, Boreas. It often appears as a greenish glow (or sometimes a faint red), as if the sun were rising from an unusual direction. The aurora borealis is also called the northern polar lights, as it is only visible in the North sky from the Northern Hemisphere. The aurora borealis most often occurs from September to October and from March to April. Auroras are produced by the collision of charged particles, mostly electrons but also protons and heavier particles, from the magnetosphere, with atoms and molecules of the Earth's upper atmosphere (at altitudes above 80 km). The particles have energies from 1-100 keV. The transfer of electrons from the magnetosphere produces a static discharge into space.

* Its southern counterpart, the aurora australis/southern polar lights:Has similar properties. Australis is the Latin word for "of the South". In its most general sense, a cosmos is an orderly or harmonious system. It originates from a Greek term meaning "order, orderly arrangement, ornaments," and is the antithetical concept of chaos. Today the word is generally used as synonym of the word "Universe" (considered in its orderly aspect). The words cosmetics and cosmetology originate from the same root. Cosmic can mean of or referring to the universe, see cosmos

* 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. Astronomical objects thought to exist based on indirect 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. On the other hand, an astronomical object could be an asteroid belt. 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.

Solar System Extrasolar objects Simple objects Compound objects Extended objects * Sun * Planetary system o Planets + Mercury + Venus + Earth # Moon + Mars # satellites + Jupiter # satellites + Saturn # satellites + Uranus # satellites + Neptune # satellites o Dwarf planets + Pluto # satellites + Eris # Dysnomia + Ceres o Asteroids + "Vulcanoids" + "Apoheles" + Near-Earth asteroids # "Arjunas" # Atens # Apollos # Amors + Mars-crossers + Asteroid belt # Hungarias # Phocaeas # Nysas # Alindas # Hildas # Pallas # Marias # Koronis # Eos # Themis # Griquas # Cybeles # Thule + Trojan asteroids # Mars trojans # Jupiter trojans # Neptune trojans + Outer planet crossers + Damocloids + Centaurs o Trans-Neptunian objects + Kuiper Belt # Plutinos # Cubewanos # Twotinos + Scattered Disk Objects # Sedna o Comets o Oort cloud o Meteoroids + Meteors + Meteor showers * Exoplanets o Hot Jupiters o Eccentric Jupiters o Pulsar planets o Hot Neptunes / Super-Earths o Transiting planets o Rogue / Interstellar planets o Hypothetical planet types + Chthonian planets + Oceanic planets + Trojan planets * Brown dwarfs o Lithium dwarfs o Methane dwarfs o Sub-brown dwarfs * Stars by spectral type o Blue stars o Blue-white stars o White stars o Yellow-white stars o Yellow stars o Orange stars o Red stars o Peculiar stars + Carbon stars # C-type stars # S-type stars + Shell stars + Wolf-Rayet stars + Peculiar A-type stars + Metallic A-type stars + Barium stars + P Cygni stars + Blue stragglers * Stars by luminosity class o Subdwarf stars o Dwarf (Main sequence) stars o Subgiant stars o Giant stars o Bright giant stars o Supergiant stars o Hypergiant stars * Stars by population o Population III stars o Population II stars + Halo stars + Thick disk stars o Population I stars * Stars by stellar evolution o Protostars o Young stellar objects o Main sequence stars o Red giant stars o Red supergiant stars o Blue supergiant stars o Wolf-Rayet stars o White dwarf stars o Neutron stars * Variable stars o Intrinsic variables + Pulsating variables # Cepheid variables # W Virginis variables # Delta Scuti variables # RR Lyrae variables # Mira variables # Semiregular variables # Irregular variables # Beta Cephei variables # Alpha Cygni variables # RV Tauri variables + Eruptive variables # Flare stars # T Tauri variables # FU Orionis variables # R Coronae Borealis variables # Luminous blue variables + Cataclysmic variables # Symbiotic variables # Dwarf novae # Novae # Supernovae * Type I supernovae * Type II supernovae # Hypothetical * Collapsars or Hypernovae o Extrinsic variables + Rotating variables # Alpha2 CVn stars # Rotating ellipsoidal variables + Eclipsing binaries # Algol stars, Algol # Beta Lyrae stars # W Ursae Majoris stars * Compact stars o White dwarfs + Black dwarfs o Neutron stars + Magnetars + Pulsars o Hypothetical stars + Quark stars + Preon stars o Black holes + Intermediate-mass black holes + Supermassive black holes * Gamma ray bursts * Planetary systems * Star systems o Single star systems + Solar system o Multiple star systems + Binary stars # Optical binaries # Visual binaries # Astrometric binaries # Spectroscopic binaries # Eclipsing binaries # Close binaries * Detached binaries * Semidetached binaries * Contact binaries * Unresolved binaries # X-ray bursters + Triple star systems * Stellar groupings o Star clusters + Stellar associations + Open clusters + Globular clusters o Constellations o Asterisms * Galaxy components o Galactic bulges + Galactic bars o Galactic rings o Spiral arms o Thin disks o Thick disks o Galactic halos o Galactic coronae * Galaxies o Galaxies by morphology + Spiral galaxies + Barred spiral galaxies + Lenticular galaxies + Elliptical galaxies + Ring galaxies + Irregular galaxies o Galaxies by size + Giant diffuse galaxies + Giant ellipticals + Dwarf galaxies o Active galaxies + Quasars # Blazars + Radio galaxies + Seyfert galaxies + Starburst galaxies o Dark galaxies * Galaxy groups * Galaxy clusters * Superclusters * Filaments / Voids * Circumstellar matter o Debris disks o Interplanetary medium o Protoplanetary disks * Interstellar medium * Nebulae o Emission nebulae + Planetary nebulae + Supernova remnants + Plerions + H II regions o Reflection nebulae o Dark nebulae + Molecular clouds + Bok globules + Proplyds o H I regions * Intergalactic medium * Cosmic microwave background radiation * Dark matter o MACHOs o WIMPs * Hypothetical o Cosmic string o Domain wall is derived from the Greek word psychikos (of the soul/mental) and refers in part to the human mind or psyche (ex. "psychic turmoil"). French astronomer and spiritualist Camille Flammarion is credited as having first used the word psychic, while it was later introduced to the English language by Edward William Cox in the 1870s.[7] Some credit William Crookes, an English chemist and physicist, as having first used the term in describing medium and magician Daniel Dunglas Home.