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

The team suspects the bedrock was broken by an impact that occurred when a celestial body slammed into Mars 3.9 billion years ago, creating a 745-mile-wide (1,200-kilometer) basin that scattered material from deep beneath the Martian crust. —Ashley Strickland, CNN, 12 Dec. 2024

Instead, the meteor shower takes place when Earth passes through the debris left in the wake of 3200 Phaethon, a contentious celestial body within the scientific community because of its resemblance to both an asteroid and a comet. —Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Dec. 2024

According to legend, celestial bodies would gather there in awe of the river below. —Hannah Martin, Architectural Digest, 19 Nov. 2024

If the Rubin telescope finds a super-Earth, Rice said, that would be exciting because these celestial bodies, between the sizes of Earth and Neptune, are a common type of exoplanet. —Jacopo Prisco, CNN, 5 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1538, in the meaning defined above