Unit 4 Astronomy：the science of the stars Section ⅠWarming Up Reading 课件（人教版必修3，课标通用）.ppt

Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects (such as moons, planets, stars, nebulae(曙光星云), and galaxies); physics, chemistry, mathematics, and evolution of such objects; and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth (such as supernovae explosions, gamma ray bursts, and cosmic background radiation). A related but distinct subject, cosmology, is concerned with studying the universe as a whole. Astronomy is one of the oldest sciences. Prehistoric cultures left behind astronomical artifacts such as the Egyptian monuments and Nubian monuments, and early civilizations such as the Babylonians, Greeks, Chinese, Indians, Iranians and Maya performed methodical observations of the night sky. 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, and the making of calendars, but professional astronomy is nowadays often considered to be synonymous with astrophysics. During the 20th century, the field of professional astronomy split into observational and theoretical branches. Observational astronomy is focused on acquiring data from observations of astronomical objects, which is then analyzed 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. Notes： ①celestial [s?lest??l] adj.天的，天空的 n．天人，神仙；(指封建时代的)中国人，天朝之人 ②cosmology [k?zm?l?d?i] n．宇宙学 ③methodical [miθ?dik?l] adj.有方法的；有条不紊的；井然 Read the passage carefully and judge the following sentences true(T) or false(F)． 1．Astronomy is only used for the study of stars. (　　) 2．The oldest sciences include