Editing Astronomical object (section)

{{Short description|Natural physical entity in space}}
{{About|naturally occurring objects|astronomical objects of the Solar System|List of Solar System objects|artificial objects|Satellite}}
{{Redirect2|Celestial object|Celestial body|the subtle body postulated in philosophy|Body of light|other uses|Celestial (disambiguation){{!}}Celestial}} 
{{Redirect2|Heavenly body|Heavenly bodies||Heavenly Body (disambiguation)|and|Heavenly Bodies (disambiguation)}}

{{Multiple image
|perrow=2/2/2/3/2/2/2/2
|total_width=325
|image1=243 ida.jpg{{!}}Asteroid Ida with its own moon
|link1=243 Ida
|image2=Mimas Cassini.jpg{{!}}Mimas, a natural satellite of Saturn
|link2=Mimas (moon)
|image3=Portrait of Jupiter from Cassini.jpg{{!}}Planet Jupiter, a gas giant
|link3=Jupiter
|image4=C2014 Q2.jpg
|link4=C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy)
|image5=67P Churyumov-Gerasimenko - Rosetta (32755885495).png{{!}}Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko
|link5=67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko
|image6=Neptune Voyager2 color calibrated.png{{!}}Planet Neptune, an ice giant
|link6=Neptune
|image7=The_Sun_in_white_light.jpg{{!}}The Sun, a G-type star
|link7=Sun
|image8=Sirius A and B Hubble photo.editted.PNG{{!}}Star Sirius A with white dwarf companion Sirius B
|link8=Sirius#Visibility
|image9=Crab Nebula.jpg{{!}}The Crab Nebula, a supernova remnant
|link9=Crab Nebula
|image10=A_view_of_the_Milky_Way_supermassive_black_hole_Sagittarius_A*_in_polarised_light_(eso2406a).jpg{{!}}Sagittarius A*, a supermassive black hole
|link10=Sagittarius A*
|image11=Vela Pulsar jet.jpg{{!}}Vela pulsar, a rotating neutron star
|link11=Vela pulsar
|image12=A Swarm of Ancient Stars - GPN-2000-000930.jpg{{!}}Globular star cluster
|link12=Messier 80
|image13=Pleiades large.jpg{{!}}Pleiades, an open star cluster
|link13=Pleiades
|image14=Messier51 sRGB.jpg{{!}}The Whirlpool galaxy
|link14=Whirlpool galaxy
|image15=Heic1401a-Abell2744-20140107.jpg{{!}}Abel 2744, Galaxy cluster
|link15=Abell 2744
|image16=NASA-HS201427a-HubbleUltraDeepField2014-20140603.jpg{{!}}The Hubble Ultra-Deep Field 2014 image with an estimated 10,000 galaxies
|link16=Hubble Ultra-Deep Field
|image17=2MASS LSS chart-NEW Nasa.jpg{{!}}Map of galaxy superclusters and filaments
|footer=Selection of astronomical bodies and objects
|link17=Galaxy supercluster
}}

An '''astronomical object''', '''celestial object''', '''stellar object''' or '''heavenly body''' is a naturally occurring [[physical object|physical entity]], association, or structure that exists within the [[observable universe]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Naming Astronomical Objects |url=http://www.iau.org/public/naming/ |author=Task Group on Astronomical Designations from IAU Commission 5 |date=April 2008 |publisher=International Astronomical Union (IAU) |access-date=4 July 2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100802140541/http://www.iau.org/public/naming/#minorplanets| archive-date= 2 August 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref> In [[astronomy]], the terms ''object'' and ''body'' are often used interchangeably. However, an '''astronomical body''' or '''celestial body''' is a single, tightly bound, contiguous entity, while an astronomical or celestial ''object'' is a complex, less cohesively bound structure, which may consist of multiple bodies or even other objects with substructures.

Examples of astronomical objects include [[planetary system]]s, [[star cluster]]s, [[nebula]]e, and [[galaxy|galaxies]], while [[asteroid]]s, [[natural satellite|moons]], [[planet]]s, and [[star]]s are astronomical bodies. A [[comet]] may be identified as both a body and an object: It is a ''body'' when referring to the frozen [[Comet nucleus|nucleus]] of ice and dust, and an ''object'' when describing the entire comet with its diffuse [[Coma (cometary)|coma]] and [[Comet tail|tail]].