astronomer

noun

as·​tron·​o·​mer ə-ˈsträ-nə-mər 

: a person who is skilled in astronomy or who makes observations of celestial phenomena

Examples of astronomer in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

French astronomer Charles Messier had catalogued more than one hundred of these fuzzy splotches in the late seventeenth century, and then the Herschel family used large reflecting telescopes to find even more. —Danny Robb, JSTOR Daily, 15 Mar. 2025

World famous astronomer Vera Rubin, 82, in her office at Carnegie Institution of Washington in Washington, DC on January 14, 2010. —Kif Leswing, CNBC, 13 Mar. 2025

Discovered in 1877 by astronomer Asaph Hall, Deimos is the smaller of Mars’s two moons. —Jamie Carter, Forbes, 13 Mar. 2025

Newsletter Sign up for our email newsletter for the latest science news When the James Webb Telescope first observed mysterious Little Red Dots in the early universe, astronomers looked on in disbelief. —The Physics Arxiv Blog, Discover Magazine, 11 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, "one versed in astronomy or astrology," from astronomie astronomy + -er -er entry 2

Note: Alternatively, Oxford English Dictionary, third edition, and Middle English Dictionary see the English word as derived from Medieval and Late Latin astronomus "astronomer" (borrowed from Greek astronómos) plus the agent suffix -er.

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for astronomer

• ionomer
• monomer