Cosmos Vocabulary

3. Microwave Background → The faint glow left over from the Big Bang, filling the universe.
6. Cluster → A loose group of younger stars, often found in spiral arms.
7. Galaxy → A galaxy with no defined shape, often distorted by gravity.
11. Black Hole → A gigantic black hole at the center of most galaxies.
14. Nursery (Nebula) → A region of gas and dust where new stars form.
15. Dwarf → A “failed star” not massive enough for hydrogen fusion.
16. → A planet orbiting a star outside our solar system.
17. Star → An incredibly dense remnant made mostly of neutrons after a supernova.
18. → A rocky body orbiting the Sun, mostly between Mars and Jupiter.
20. Cluster → A dense, spherical group of very old stars bound by gravity.
22. → A massive star explosion that scatters heavy elements into space.
24. Galaxy → A galaxy shaped with arms spiraling outward from the center.

1. Galaxy → A round, smooth galaxy with little gas, dust, or star formation.
2. / Meteorite → A space rock that enters Earth’s atmosphere (meteor) and reaches the ground (meteorite).
4. → An icy body with a glowing coma and tail when near the Sun.
5. A contracting cloud of gas and dust that marks the birth of a star.
8. → An extremely bright, energetic object powered by a black hole at a galaxy’s center.
9. Variable Star → A type of star whose brightness changes in a predictable cycle, useful for measuring distance.
10. Nebula → The glowing shell of gas ejected from a dying medium star.
12. Giant → A late stage in a medium star’s life when it expands and cools.
13. Sequence Star A stable star fusing hydrogen into helium; includes stars like our Sun.
15. Star System → Two stars orbiting around their common center of mass.
19. → A rapidly spinning neutron star that emits beams of radiation.
21. Hole → A region where gravity is so strong that not even light can escape.
23. Dwarf → A small, hot, dense remnant of a low-mass star after it sheds outer layers.