alexander koryagin wrote to Roy Witt:   
      
    ak>>> an aquanaut, in water; an astronaut - a person traveling between   
    ak>>> stars (that's why it is, for a while, an incorrect term). An   
    ak>>> alconaut - is a person who drinks often. ;=)   
      
    RW>> That's the same way that naut is used in the English language. Also   
    RW>> in English, astro- means 'outer space' not specifically 'stars'...   
    RW>> the study of the stars is called astrology, while the study of   
    RW>> astrometry is of a celestial body, such as Mars or the Sun.   
      
    ak>    Well, it is probably because that in ancient times people thought   
    ak> that the planets were stars, too.   
      
   Ancient astrology-sect is an astrological concept in which the seven   
   traditional "planets" (including the Sun, the Moon and the five starry   
   planets) are assigned to two different categories: a diurnal or nocturnal   
   sect. Forget about the concept and focus on the word ancient astrology.   
   i.e. ancient Egyptians and Greeks practiced astrology in the 5th century   
   BC.   
      
    ak> "Planet" means a wandering star.   
      
   Not necessarily. Planets were known to exist even in ancient times and   
   they were known to be celestial bodies orbiting the sun. During the   
   christian era of 1300 AD or so onward to modern times, it was blasphemy to   
   think of anything in space orbiting anything but the Earth. Today and   
   before christianity came along, we knew better.   
      
    ak> That was the only difference between planets and stars, and,   
    ak> therefore, astronomy learned both the stars and planets.   
      
   Yeah, 5th century BC...   
      
    ak>  But it's another matter now how to call a man who travels in space.   
      
   To each his own.   
      
    ak> Now we know the difference. BTW, in Russian books of scientific   
    ak> fantasy we also have an equivalent of "astronaut", but we call in   
    ak> such a way only those people who travel between stars really.   
      
   When I get into my car and drive off, I'm a 'time traveler', difference.   
      
    ak>    
      
    RW>>>> Whoever heard of the term, cosmostrolgy, being used to describe   
    RW>>>> the practice of astrology?   
      
    ak>>> Well, IMHO cosmos is a more general term. After leaving the Earth,   
    ak>>> and we are in cosmos.   
      
    RW>> By leaving the Earth's atmosphere, one is in space... as an   
    RW>> astronaut would be.   
      
    ak>    You do, but the word "space" is not a self-sufficing term. There   
    ak> is space in a kennel, too. When we speak of the space where the stars   
    ak> and planets move, we, if we want to be perfectly correct, speak of   
    ak> the cosmic space. That's why "cosmonaut" is more correct. ;-)   
      
   In reality, when traveling in 'outer' space, aka the universe, we're not   
   merely a cosmonaut, but interstellar space travelers.   
      
    ak>    
      
    RW>> "Aerodynamically, space begins about 120 miles [190 kilometers]   
    RW>> from earth. Physiologically and psychologically, however, it starts   
    RW>> only 12 miles [19 kilometers] up, where survival requires elaborate   
    RW>> protection against an actual space environment."   
      
    RW>> It is a very interesting adventure...   
      
    ak>    Yes, however, the more interesting is the fact that humans think   
    ak> of the outer space as about a empty lifeless space.   
      
   Some do, but those who look up and see activity among the stars and other   
   celestial bodies know better.   
      
    ak> But actually, 96 percent of things that exist in the Universe are   
    ak> located in the place which people call vacuum.   
      
   So, is the universe expanding or collapsing?   
      
      
            R\%/itt   
      
      
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