Meaning & use
celestial object
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Meanings
nouncountabletechnical
Any natural thing found in space, such as a star, planet, moon, comet or galaxy.
Grammar: Countable: one celestial object, many celestial objects.
Patterns
- observe a celestial object
- a celestial object in the sky
The Moon is the brightest celestial object in the night sky.
Astronomers study celestial objects with large telescopes.
A comet is a celestial object made of ice and dust.
nouncountabletechnical
A visible thing in the sky that astronomers measure or track to learn about space.
Grammar: Often used in observing or classification contexts: classify a celestial object.
Patterns
- track a celestial object
- catalog a celestial object
The telescope can track a distant celestial object for hours.
Students had to name three celestial objects they saw with the naked eye.
The new celestial object was found beyond Neptune.
Word forms
| plural | celestial objects |
|---|
Common combinations
- observe a celestial object
- We used binoculars to observe a celestial object.
- bright celestial object
- Venus is a bright celestial object at dawn.
- distant celestial object
- The probe photographed a distant celestial object.
- catalog celestial objects
- The team will catalog celestial objects in the survey.
- classify a celestial object
- Scientists classify a celestial object by its size and composition.
Synonyms and how they differ
- celestial body
- Celestial body means almost the same and is a more traditional phrase, while celestial object is common in modern science writing.
- heavenly body
- Heavenly body is old-fashioned and literary, and celestial object is more technical.
- astronomical object
- Astronomical object is another scientific term and works in the same way as celestial object.
- star
- A star is only one type of celestial object, but celestial object includes planets, moons and galaxies too.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: celestial object or terrestrial? celestial object or celestial vs celebrity?
celestial object vs terrestrial
Terrestrial means related to the Earth, which is the opposite of celestial.
celestial object vs celestial vs celebrity
These look similar but celestial means about the sky, while celebrity means a famous person.
Practice
A comet, a moon and a galaxy are all examples of a ___.
Choose one answer.
All three are natural things in space, so they are celestial objects. The other options relate to Earth.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “celestial object”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.