celestial body

noun

variants or less commonly celestial object

plural celestial bodies also celestial objects

: an aggregation of matter in the universe (such as a planet, star, or nebula) that can be considered as a single unit (as for astronomical study)

But many scientists began seriously rethinking their notions of the solar system in 1992, when we identified a small celestial body—just a few hundred kilometers across—sited farther from the sun than any of the known planets.

—Jane X. Luu et al.

As the observer looks at a star or other celestial body its light rays pass through a single point on the earth's surface.

—Dutton's Navigation and Piloting, 14th edition

A black hole forms when a star or other celestial object collapses under the pull of its own gravity.

—Mary Durack Miller

called also heavenly body

Examples of celestial body in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

As Earth passes through the debris trail left by this celestial body, tiny particles enter our atmosphere at high speeds, burning up and creating bright streaks of light known as meteors or shooting stars. —Stefanie Waldek, Travel + Leisure, 2 Jan. 2025

Enchanting new Hubble Telescope image reveals an infant star's sparkle Another mind-blowing JWST image Not to be outdone, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) captured incredibly sharp images of the Horsehead Nebula in April, one of the most iconic celestial bodies in the sky over Earth. —Josh Dinner, Space.com, 24 Dec. 2024

TNOs are icy celestial bodies that orbit the sun beyond the orbit of Neptune at distances greater than 30 astronomical units (about 2.8 billion miles). —George Monastiriakos, Newsweek, 30 Dec. 2024

While the moon passes between the sun and Earth in both cases, the three celestial bodies are not perfectly aligned during a partial eclipse, leaving some of the sun visible. —Carlyn Kranking, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1538, in the meaning defined above