Sun Earth Moon System/The Solar System

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Across
  1. 2. a number of meteors that appear to radiate from one point in the sky at a particular date each year, due to the earth's regularly passing through a field of particles at that position in its orbit.
  2. 5. a telescope that uses a converging lens to collect light.
  3. 7. telluric planet or rocky planet is a planet that is composed primarily of silicate rocks or metals.
  4. 9. is the apparent motion of a planet to move in a direction opposite to that of other bodies within its system, as observed from a particular vantage point.
  5. 11. a small body of matter from outer space that enters the earth's atmosphere, becoming incandescent as a result of friction and appearing as a streak of light.
  6. 12. is a large planet that is not primarily composed of rock or other solid matter.
  7. 13. a telescope in which a mirror is used to collect and focus light.
  8. 16. deviation of a curve or orbit from circularity.
  9. 17. is the apparent path of the Sun on the celestial sphere, and is the basis for the ecliptic coordinate system.
  10. 19. either of the two times in the year, the summer solstice and the winter solstice, when the sun reaches its highest or lowest point in the sky at noon, marked by the longest and shortest days.
  11. 21. which the planets Jupiter and Saturn are made of, is not an earthly substance.
  12. 23. a celestial object consisting of a nucleus of ice and dust and, when near the sun, a “tail” of gas and dust particles pointing away from the sun.
  13. 24. a region of the solar system beyond the orbit of Neptune, believed to contain many comets, asteroids, and other small bodies made largely of ice.
  14. 25. the point in the orbit of the moon or a satellite at which it is nearest to the earth.
  15. 26. the point in the orbit of the moon or a satellite at which it is furthest from the earth.
  16. 29. a minute planet; a body that could or did come together with many others under gravitation to form a planet.
Down
  1. 1. is a family of techniques in which waves, usually electromagnetic, are superimposed in order to extract information about the waves.
  2. 3. an eclipse in which the sun is obscured by the moon.
  3. 4. a unit of measurement equal to 149.6 million kilometers, the mean distance from the center of the earth to the center of the sun.
  4. 6. the range of wavelengths or frequencies over which electromagnetic radiation extends.
  5. 8. a regular oval shape, traced by a point moving in a plane so that the sum of its distances from two other points (the foci) is constant, or resulting when a cone is cut by an oblique plane that does not intersect the base.
  6. 10. a celestial body resembling a small planet but lacking certain technical criteria that are required for it to be classed as such.
  7. 14. the time or date (twice each year) at which the sun crosses the celestial equator, when day and night are of equal length (about September 22 and March 20).
  8. 15. is the result of tidal forces that over time slow the rotation of the smaller body until it is synchronized with its period of revolution around the larger body.
  9. 18. a strip of material used in various technical applications, in particular.
  10. 20. an area or stretch of land having a particular characteristic, purpose, or use, or subject to particular restrictions.
  11. 21. an eclipse in which the moon appears darkened as it passes into the earth's shadow.
  12. 22. a small body moving in the solar system that would become a meteor if it entered the earth's atmosphere.
  13. 27. a very steep bank or slope; an escarpment.
  14. 28. a meteor that survives its passage through the earth's atmosphere such that part of it strikes the ground. More than 90 percent of meteorites are of rock, while the remainder consist wholly or partly of iron and nickel.