What does astronomer mean?
Word: Astronomer
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Astronomer means a scientist who studies the stars, planets and other objects in space.
How do you spell astronomer?
Syllables: as - tron - o - mer
Tricky part: The ending is er, not or. Pupils who think of words like inventor often write astronomor.
Watch out for: astronomor, astronomar
Memory tip: An astronomer is an explorer of the night sky, and explorer gives you the same final two letters.
Astronomer in a sentence
Example 1: The astronomer pointed the big telescope at Saturn so that we could see its rings.
Example 2: Kalpana's dream is to become an astronomer and discover a new comet.
Example 3: An astronomer from Cape Town visited our school to explain the solar eclipse.
Fun Fact
In 1610 the Italian astronomer Galileo spotted four moons circling Jupiter, and they are still known as the Galilean moons.
Practise the CREST Way
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
omnaertsor
a) astrologer
b) astronaut
c) astronomer
d) astronomy
Show answer
c) astronomer. The jumble has an m and an e but no y, l or u.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the correctly spelt word:
a) constelation
b) gravaty
c) astronomer
d) planitarium
Show answer
c) astronomer. Count the l's: constellation has two. Gravity has an i after the v, and planetarium an e after the n.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
The astronamer told us that the bright dot near the moon that night was really the planet Venus.
a) astronamer
b) planet
c) bright
d) really
Show answer
a) astronamer. The middle vowel sounds weak when you say it, but it is written with an o.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
astronoumer
a) m
b) n
c) u
d) o
Show answer
c) u. After the n comes a plain o, as in astronomy, with no u beside it.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which question belongs to an astronomer's work?
a) Why do rivers change course?
b) Why do leaves turn yellow?
c) Why does Mars look reddish?
d) Why does bread dough rise?
Show answer
c) Why does Mars look reddish?
2. Where might an astronomer spend many working nights?
a) at a post office
b) at a dairy farm
c) at an observatory
d) at a bakery
Show answer
c) at an observatory
