Astronomy Introduction Crossword
Across
- 2. An event in which the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, blocking the Sun's light, casting a shadow on Earth.
- 5. The path that a celestial object, such as a planet or moon, follows as it revolves around another celestial body.
- 8. A vast collection of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, and dark matter bound together by gravity. The Milky Way is an example of a galaxy.
- 10. The scientific study of celestial objects, such as stars, planets, galaxies, and the universe as a whole.
- 11. The phenomenon where light from distant galaxies is shifted toward the red end of the spectrum, indicating that the universe is expanding.
- 14. A star (e.g., the Sun) and all the celestial objects, including planets, moons, asteroids, and comets, that orbit it.
- 16. The faint afterglow of the Big Bang, detectable as microwave radiation throughout the universe.
- 18. A region of space where the gravitational pull is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape from it.
- 21. A celestial object that orbits a planet, moon, or other larger body. The Moon is Earth's natural satellite.
- 22. Matter A mysterious, invisible substance that does not emit, absorb, or reflect light but exerts gravitational influence on visible matter in the universe.
- 24. The distance that light travels in one year, approximately 9.46 trillion kilometers (5.88 trillion miles). It is a unit of astronomical distance.
- 25. The average distance between the Earth and the Sun, approximately 149.6 million kilometers (93 million miles).
- 26. An infrared telescope that orbits the sun 1.5 million kilometers from Earth.
Down
- 1. The prevailing cosmological model that suggests the universe originated from a singular, extremely hot and dense point approximately 13.8 billion years ago.
- 3. A celestial body that orbits a star, such as the sun, and has enough mass for its self-gravity to give it a nearly spherical shape.
- 4. A cloud of gas and dust in space, often the birthplace of stars.
- 6. An optical instrument that gathers and magnifies light to observe distant celestial objects.
- 7. A luminous celestial object consisting mainly of hydrogen and helium, which produces energy through nuclear fusion in its core.
- 9. An event in which the Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon, causing the Earth's shadow to be cast on the Moon.
- 12. A space-based observatory that has provided stunning images and valuable data about the cosmos.
- 13. A small celestial body composed of ice, dust, and rock that orbits the Sun, developing a visible tail when it approaches the Sun.
- 15. A recognizable pattern of stars in the night sky, often named after mythological figures or objects.
- 17. A small, rocky object that orbits the Sun and is often found in the asteroid belt, located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
- 19. A planet that orbits a star outside of our solar system.
- 20. The spiral galaxy that contains our solar system.
- 23. A massive explosion of a star that briefly outshines an entire galaxy, leading to the creation of elements and often leaving behind a dense core called a neutron star or black hole.