Where does Astronomy encounter methodological stumbling blocks associated with 'softer' fields?

In its data acquisition, relying on observation of naturally occurring, distant, and often irreproducible phenomena.

While astronomy’s theoretical foundation is hard science, its practice faces limitations analogous to softer sciences during data gathering. Unlike laboratory sciences where conditions can be manipulated, astrophysicists cannot bring phenomena like black holes into a controlled vacuum for manipulation. Data acquisition is entirely passive, observing events that have already occurred or are occurring light-years away. This reliance on nature's uncontrollable processes forces astronomers to move from recorded signals (photons) to underlying reality via inference, which introduces uncertainties in interpretation not present in direct, controlled lab measurements.