Transcript: There are several essential steps in the scientific method. They apply equally to astronomy and all other sciences. The first step is gathering data or observations. In astronomy this is usually not direct evidence. Usually it’s radiation gathered from space. The more observations or data the better. The second process is to analyze the data or look for patterns. Scientists look for patterns in the evidence or observations as a way of understanding how nature works. This leads to insights as in the example of the periodic table or the patterns in fossils that might tell how species evolved. Astronomers also look for patterns. In the third step astronomers take the patterns they have found and form a hypothesis to try and explain all the observations they have in hand. They hope this hypothesis will lead to predictions about new situations as yet untested. And if the hypothesis is successful, they form a theory of nature to try and describe what they’ve been observing. Science can never guarantee truth, but with sufficiently good observations it can guarantee good explanations of the natural world we live in.