heavenly body
noun
plural heavenly bodies
: 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) : celestial body
Cooper's … account of the collection and interpretation of information about this heavenly body presents us with vivid images of the Venusian landscape as well as insights into the frustrations and rewards of space science.—
Donna Seaman
Donna SeamanThis harvest was the first solid sample of a heavenly body collected in more than 30 years and the first ever from a comet.—Jeffrey Winters
Jeffrey WintersExamples of heavenly body in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The Earth was at the center of the universe, and the sun, the moon and other heavenly bodies spun around it.
—Danuta Hamlin, Fox News, 18 Feb. 2024
Their existence gave evidence for what Copernicus had merely intuited: Not all heavenly bodies circle Earth.
—Dava Sobel, Discover Magazine, 12 Nov. 2019
Early astronomical observatories boosted accuracy by constructing enormous buildings structured to enable the measurement of the position of heavenly bodies—hugely expensive projects that often required some form of royal patronage.
—John Timmer, Ars Technica, 18 Nov. 2023
This particular example is distinguished by a 44 mm rose-gold case and a black sapphire-crystal dial that shows a rotating chart of the heavenly bodies.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 26 Sep. 2023
Aristotle, for example, thought that heavenly bodies were made of a theoretical form of matter called aether and naturally moved in circles.
—Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 5 Sep. 2023
Volunteers from the Los Angeles Astronomical Society, the Los Angeles Sidewalk Astronomers and the Planetary Society will be on hand to help out, as will amateur astronomers who can discuss the finer points of our heavenly bodies.
—Dakota Kim, Los Angeles Times, 25 May 2023
Dirt or dust on any heavenly body is commonly referred to as regolith.
—IEEE Spectrum, 30 Oct. 2018
After all, syncing between heavenly bodies has been a constant challenge for operators of missions to Mars.
—WIRED, 28 Mar. 2023
Danuta Hamlin, Fox News, 18 Feb. 2024
Their existence gave evidence for what Copernicus had merely intuited: Not all heavenly bodies circle Earth.
—Dava Sobel, Discover Magazine, 12 Nov. 2019
Early astronomical observatories boosted accuracy by constructing enormous buildings structured to enable the measurement of the position of heavenly bodies—hugely expensive projects that often required some form of royal patronage.
—John Timmer, Ars Technica, 18 Nov. 2023
This particular example is distinguished by a 44 mm rose-gold case and a black sapphire-crystal dial that shows a rotating chart of the heavenly bodies.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 26 Sep. 2023
Aristotle, for example, thought that heavenly bodies were made of a theoretical form of matter called aether and naturally moved in circles.
—Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 5 Sep. 2023
Volunteers from the Los Angeles Astronomical Society, the Los Angeles Sidewalk Astronomers and the Planetary Society will be on hand to help out, as will amateur astronomers who can discuss the finer points of our heavenly bodies.
—Dakota Kim, Los Angeles Times, 25 May 2023
Dirt or dust on any heavenly body is commonly referred to as regolith.
—IEEE Spectrum, 30 Oct. 2018
After all, syncing between heavenly bodies has been a constant challenge for operators of missions to Mars.
—WIRED, 28 Mar. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'heavenly body.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near heavenly body
Cite this Entry
“Heavenly body.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heavenly%20body. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
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