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Glossarbegriffe: Beobachtung

Description: Bei astronomischen Beobachtungen werden elektromagnetische Strahlung, Teilchen oder Gravitationswellen, die uns von einem astronomischen Objekt erreichen, gesammelt und/oder gemessen. Früher haben Menschen mit ihrem bloßem Auge den Himmel beobachtet. Ab dem frühen 16. Jahrhundert gibt es Teleskope für astronomische Beobachtungen. Heute können dafür eine Vielzahl von Kameras, Spektrometern und anderen Instrumenten genutzt werden. Die gesammelten Informationen, wie z. B. die unbearbeitete Bilddatei, welche uns eine Kamera liefert, werden als (Beobachtungs-)Daten bezeichnet.

Diese Daten enthalten Informationen über das Objekt und das dazwischenliegende Medium (z. B. das interstellare oder intergalaktische Medium), hängen aber auch von den Besonderheiten des Instruments ab, z. B. wenn ein Teil der Kamera empfindlicher ist als ein anderer. Die Daten hängen auch von Verunreinigungen ab. Wenn wir beispielsweise Licht von einem astronomischen Objekt mit einer Kamera sammeln, nehmen wir normalerweise auch Vordergrundlicht mit auf, das in der Erdatmosphäre gestreut wird. Die möglichst vollständige Entfernung von instrumentenspezifischen und verunreinigenden Anteilen in den Rohdaten wird als Datenreduktion bezeichnet. Typische Endprodukte von Beobachtungen sind Bilder, Spektren und Zeitreihen (wiederholte Beobachtungen desselben Objekts oder derselben Objekte, z. B. Daten von Pulsaren oder veränderlichen Sternen). Solche Beobachtungen können verwendet werden, um verschiedene Größen zu messen, z. B. den Winkel zwischen zwei Objekten, die Zeit, zu der ein Ereignis beobachtet wurde, oder die scheinbare Helligkeit eines Objekts.

Beobachtungen unterscheiden sich von den Experimenten, die in vielen wissenschaftlichen Labors durchgeführt werden, dadurch, dass der Beobachter nicht mit den astronomischen Objekten selbst interagieren kann, wie es ein Chemiker kann, der zwei Chemikalien mischt. Manchmal können astronomische Beobachtungen aber durch Experimente an den Objekten selbst ergänzt werden, z. B. bei der Untersuchung von Meteoriten oder indem Raumsonden zu Himmelskörpern im Sonnensystem reisen.

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Term and definition status: The original definition of this term in English have been approved by a research astronomer and a teacher
The translation of this term and its definition is still awaiting approval

The OAE Multilingual Glossary is a project of the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education (OAE) in collaboration with the IAU Office of Astronomy Outreach (OAO). The terms and definitions were chosen, written and reviewed by a collective effort from the OAE, the OAE Centers and Nodes, the OAE National Astronomy Education Coordinators (NAECs) and other volunteers. You can find a full list of credits here. All glossary terms and their definitions are released under a Creative Commons CC BY-4.0 license and should be credited to "IAU OAE".

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A telescope points to the sky where the Milky Way sits with mottled dark and light patches.

Learning Nights

Bildunterschriften: Beneath the sprawling expanse of the night sky over Colombia's Tatacoa Desert, a telescope finds its alignment with the majestic galactic core, while a smartphone captures this cosmic encounter. This snapshot, taken on 9 June 2023 during an astronomy camp, epitomises the accessible beauty of celestial marvels. It showcases the mesmerising grandeur of the night sky, inviting both the casual stargazer and the passionate astronomer alike. The splendour of the Milky Way, elegantly captured through a mobile device, seamlessly bridges the gap between sophisticated equipment and the pure, profound joy of observing the stars.
Bildnachweis: Juan Pablo Botero Londoño/IAU OAE (CC BY 4.0)

License: CC-BY-4.0 Creative Commons Namensnennung 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) icons


Four dish-shaped telescopes point at the sky with the arc of the Milky Way overhead.

Milky Way Over H.E.S.S Observatory

Bildunterschriften: The darkness of the skies at H.E.S.S Observatory reveal the seemingly innumerable stars that make up the Milky Way galaxy, making it challenging to discern the constellations as seen taken with a smartphone from Namibia in June 2023. The stars Alpha and Beta Centauri are visible bottom left of the image just about the tower. The orange-hued star visible just above and to the right of the left H.E.S.S telescope is Antares, a red-giant star that is part of the constellation Scorpius.
Bildnachweis: Jianfeng Dai/IAU OAE (CC BY 4.0)

License: CC-BY-4.0 Creative Commons Namensnennung 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) icons


The Milky Way appears as a diagonal stripe bottom left to top right. It becomes more horizontal as the video progresses.

Southern Sky Over La Silla

Bildunterschriften: This video shows the Milky Way’s sprawling brilliance across the celestial expanse. Among the stars’ grand theatre, the Southern Cross constellation claims its place in the scene, distinguished by its distinctive cross shape as seen in the top of this video and slightly to the right just over the Milky Way, slowly disappearing as the video progresses. This celestial marker, a prominent feature in the southern hemisphere, holds cultural and navigational significance, having served as a navigational guidepost for centuries. Accompanying the Milky Way’s grandeur are the two Magellanic clouds, celestial companions seen dancing in the distant sky. The Carina Nebula adds its ethereal glow to the cosmic panorama, painting a radiant hue against the darkness. In the midst of this celestial ballet, a gentle green hue envelops the atmosphere, a phenomenon known as airglow, adding a touch of subtle luminescence to the night sky. The terrestrial also makes an appearance, with planes flying overhead and vehicles driving between observatory buildings. This time-lapse, taken from the La Silla Observatory in Chile, is a window to the captivating dance of stars, offering a glimpse into the awe-inspiring beauty of our galaxy and the celestial landmarks that grace the southern sky.
Bildnachweis: José Rodrigues/IAU OAE (CC BY 4.0)

License: CC-BY-4.0 Creative Commons Namensnennung 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) icons


The dish of a radio telescope rotates as the Big Dipper moves in the sky behind.

The Big Dipper with the Sardinia Radio Telescope SRT

Bildunterschriften: This time-lapse captures the movement of the stars alongside the majestic 64-metre Sardinia Radio Telescope (SRT) from the National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF), with special attention to the renowned Big Dipper against the backdrop of the celestial sphere. The camera pans as the famous asterism sinks in the sky while planes fly past and the radio telescope rotates. The harmonious interplay between the stellar pathways and the colossal dish of the radio telescope creates a mesmerising visual ode to the cosmic ballet taken in September 2019.
Bildnachweis: Antonio Finazzi/IAU OAE (CC BY 4.0)

License: CC-BY-4.0 Creative Commons Namensnennung 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) icons


Two astronomers view a lunar eclipse. Between them in the partly cloudy sky, a series of bright circles trace a curved path

The Eclipse Between Us, by Muhammad Rayhan, Indonesia

Bildunterschriften: Second place in the 2021 IAU OAE Astrophotography Contest, category Total lunar eclipse. Total lunar eclipses belong to the rather spectacular celestial events and can be observed easily with and without a telescope. Here we see the stages of the total lunar eclipse of 31.1.2018 photographed in Indonesia: starting with the entry of the full moon disk into Earth's round umbra, the totality as Blood Moon, and the beginning of the Moon's exit from Earth's umbra until moonset.
Bildnachweis: Muhammad Rayhan/IAU OAE

License: CC-BY-4.0 Creative Commons Namensnennung 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) icons

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