Astronomy is the scientific study of celestial objects, including stars, planets, comets, nebulae, star clusters, and galaxies. It also encompasses the study of phenomena that originate outside the Earth's atmosphere, such as supernovae explosions, gamma ray bursts and cosmic microwave background radiation. In addition to understanding how these objects form and evolve over time, astronomers are interested in discovering their composition; studying their motion through space; exploring possible interactions between them; searching for other worlds beyond our own Solar System (exoplanets); investigating extrasolar planetary systems to determine whether they may be suitable for life; learning more about dark matter/energy, which makes up most of the universe but has yet to be identified or understood by scientists; and uncovering new life forms. ways to use astronomy data in fields like archaeology or biology.

The science behind astronomy lies at its core: it's an observational science relying heavily on mathematics – from calculating distances within a solar system to measuring light-years away from galaxies – as well as physics, for understanding what happens when certain events take place in outer space. Without mathematics, we would have no way of accurately predicting where a comet will appear next, nor could we understand why some stars burn brighter than others. Physics provides us with insights into things like black holes – one example being Albert Einstein's theory of relativity – while chemistry helps explain why elements combine together differently in different parts of space where extreme temperatures affect chemical reactions significantly more so than on Earth where those temperatures don't exist naturally. Finally, astrophysics combines both disciplines, providing even deeper insights into astronomical phenomena such as quasars or neutron stars, which can only really be studied via mathematical models based on physical laws that govern how matter behaves under varying conditions found throughout our universe.

In order to learn more about distant bodies in our Universe, we must rely upon telescopes, since they are capable of collecting far more information than any human eye ever could without assistance from technology (which dates back hundreds if not thousands of years). Telescopes allow us to detect faint signals emitted from distant sources, enabling researchers to observe light coming off various types of gas clouds deep within the interstellar medium, thereby helping map out large swaths of unknown territory located across multiple galaxies simultaneously.