An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

The branch of → astronomy that deals with the → physics of → celestial objects and the → Universe in general. It relies on the assumption that the → laws of physics apply everywhere in the Universe and throughout all time. See also → observational astrophysics, → theoretical astrophysics.

See also: Astrophysics, from → astro- “star” + → physics.

The first use of the term astrophysics has been attributed to Johann Karl Friedrich Zöllner (1834-1882) in 1865. He defined it as a coalescence of physics and chemistry with astronomy (History of Astronomy: An Encyclopedia, ed. John Lankford, Routledge, 1997).