The study of things outside the earth's atmosphere. It focuses on the positions, movements, and features of objects in space. The word "astronomy" comes from Greek words meaning "the law of the stars."
Astronomy is not a modern science. People have been interested in space for a very long time. Early civilizations studied the sky for fortune-telling (astrology) and to help with navigation.
The Bible talks about astronomy in some interesting ways. According to Genesis 1:14–19, God made the sun, moon, and stars to:
give light on the earth;
mark seasons and festivals; and
act as "signs" to help people find their way.”
The word "season" may refer to festivals and the annual seasons. Like the Babylonian calendar, the Hebrew calendar was based on the moon's phases. It used the moon to set dates for religious festivals. The function of the stars and planets as signs seems to relate to how they outline the heavens. This allows people on Earth to find their way, navigate, and orient themselves.
The Bible does not directly mention eclipses. But some passages about the sun and moon going dark might be talking about eclipses (Joel 2:31; Amos 8:9; Matthew 24:29).
Some constellations are mentioned in the Old Testament. It is not always easy to determine which constellations are being discussed by particular Hebrew words. The word translated "Pleiades" (in many versions) means a "cluster" or "heap." It likely applies to the most visible cluster of stars in the constellation Taurus (Job 9:9; 38:31; Amos 5:8). A Hebrew word possibly related to the word "fool" is frequently understood to be the constellation Orion. The connection between that constellation and the word "fool" is unknown. Other constellations are noted as "the constellations of the South" and "the Bear" (Job 9:9; 38:32). It can be seen in the northern sky.
The Bible often mentions stars. God told Abraham his descendants would be as numerous as the stars (Genesis 15:5). Paul wrote that stars have different levels of brightness (1 Corinthians 15:41).
Jude 1:13 compares false teachers to "wandering stars." Some think this metaphor is based on how stars appear to move around the polestar (the closest stationary star based on its proximity to the poles). The fixed polestar provides a reference point for navigation, while the moving stars would be unreliable guides, like false teachers.
However, it is more likely that Jude's metaphor refers to the planets. By that time, people knew the regular movements of stars and constellations around the polestar, so they would not consider all stars except the polestar to be "wandering." Planets, on the other hand, were seen as moving in erratic paths, unlike the fixed rotation of stars. Some commentators believe "wandering stars" could also refer to comets.