Solar System Vocabulary

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Across
  1. 5. A large round object that orbits the Sun and has cleared other stuff out of its path.
  2. 7. System, The Sun and everything that moves around it, including planets, moons, asteroids, comets, and dust.
  3. 8. Cloud, A distant, round shell of icy objects that surrounds the solar system and is thought to be where many comets come from.
  4. 9. A meteor that survives the trip through the atmosphere and lands on Earth.
  5. 11. Planet, A small, round object that orbits the Sun but hasn’t cleared other objects out of its orbit (like Pluto).
  6. 13. A ball of ice, rock, and dust that orbits the Sun. When it gets close, it forms a glowing tail.
  7. 14. Motion, When a planet looks like it’s moving backward in the sky because of how Earth and that planet move around the Sun.
Down
  1. 1. A stretched-out circle or oval shape. The planets move around the Sun in ellipses.
  2. 2. A small rock or piece of debris moving through space.
  3. 3. Belt, A region beyond Neptune filled with icy objects, dwarf planets, and comets.
  4. 4. Shower, When Earth passes through a trail of comet dust, and many meteors are seen in the sky.
  5. 6. A rocky object that orbits the Sun, usually found between Mars and Jupiter.
  6. 10. A meteoroid that burns up in Earth’s atmosphere — what we call a “shooting star.”
  7. 12. Belt, The region between Mars and Jupiter where most asteroids orbit.