Estrella vs astro (heavenly bodies)

[Tyrn]

Hi,

Are these words exactly synonymous? Connotations and all?

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

No, to me they are not the same. All "estrellas" are "astros", but not all "astros" are "estrellas".
An "astro" is any celestial body (sun, moon, planets, comets, stars...), but "estrella" is only a star, understood as a mass of hot, gaseous, self-luminous celestial body, like the sun.

- Los astros dicen que serás millonario.
The stars say you'll be a millionaire. -> Astrology believers use all kinds of celestial bodies, so we say "astros", not "estrellas".
- El astro/la estrella de Hollywood, Johnny Smith, falleció esta madrugada.
The Hollywood star, Johnny Smith, died early in the morning. (In this case they're perfect synonyms.)
- Los antiguos dioses tenían los nombres de los astros.
The ancient gods had the names of the celestial bodies.
- Los movimientos de rotación y translación de la tierra causan el movimiento aparente de los astros.
The earth's rotation and revolution cause the apparent motion of the celestial bodies.

[Tyrn]

Thanks!

So, talking about human stars, they don't have to agree in gender?

Johnny Smith can be either astro or estrella, whatever they wish?

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

"Astro" in singular, is only for men. "Estrella" is more often used for women, but it may be used for men too.

- La película tiene en los papeles principales a la estrella Penélope Cruz y al astro Javier Bardem.
The main roles of the movie will be played by Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem.
- El astro del basquetball ahora busca convertirse en estrella de Hollywood.
The great basketball player now wants to become a Hollywood star.
- Robert Downey Jr., estrella de películas de superhéroes, visita niños en el hospital.
RDJ, star in super hero movies, visits children in hospital.
- Test: ¿puedes nombrar a todas las estrellas de las siguientes fotografías?
Test: can you name all the stars in these pictures? (Men and women included in this particular case, where I found the sentence.)
- Anne Hathaway, la estrella de películas como Les Misérables, filma en nuestro país.
Anne Hathaway, the star in movies like Les Misérables, is filming in our country.