ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Hypothetical astronomical object

Imagine you are playing with play-doh and you make a ball. Now, imagine that the ball is really big, like bigger than your house! That's like an astronomical object, which means something in space or the sky that we can see or study.

Sometimes, scientists make up pretend astronomical objects to help them understand how things work in space. These imaginary objects are called hypothetical astronomical objects. It's like making a pretend friend to play with when you don't have anyone else to play with.

For example, scientists might make up a hypothetical astronomical object called "dark matter" because they can't see it, but they think it's there. They use math and science to try to figure out what it might be like and how it might affect other things in space.

So, just like you might use your imagination to make up imaginary friends or worlds when you play, scientists use their imagination to make up hypothetical astronomical objects to help them understand space better.