Across
- 4. phase occurs when less of the Moon’s near side is lit each night
- 7. object made of gas, dust, and ice that moves around the Sun in an oval-shaped orbit
- 10. When Earth or the Moon partially blocks light from the Sun.
- 11. When one celestial body blocks light from another.
- 14. streak of light in Earth’s atmosphere made by a glowing meteoroid
- 16. small, rocky object that orbits the Sun in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter
- 18. dense core of neutrons that remains after a supernova
- 19. A huge collection of gas, dust, and billions of stars and their solar systems held together by gravity.
- 21. line on which an object rotates
- 23. All of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy.
- 25. An attractive force between two masses by which a planet or other body draws objects toward its center.
- 26. day when Earth’s axis is not leaning toward or away from the Sun
- 27. daily rise and fall of sea level
- 28. eclipse occurs when the Moon’s shadow appears on Earth’s surface
- 31. matter that emits no light
- 35. spinning motion
- 36. path an object follows as it moves around another object
- 37. true brightness of an object
Down
- 1. An astronomical body that orbits a star, is big enough to have enough gravity to force a spherical shape, and is big enough that its gravity has cleared away any objects of a similar size near its orbit
- 2. distance that light travels in 1 year
- 3. day when Earth’s rotation axis is the most toward or away from the Sun
- 5. cloud of gas and dust, where stars form
- 6. A large region in the solar system past Neptune where Pluto and other dwarf planets orbit the Sun along with rocks, dust, and ice.
- 7. positioned in or relating to the sky or outer space
- 8. object in space made of gases in which nuclear fusion reactions occur that emit energy
- 9. object whose gravity is so great that no light can escape
- 12. lit part of the Moon or a planet that can be seen from Earth
- 13. motion of an object around another object
- 15. eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into Earth’s shadow
- 17. imaginary line that divides Earth into its northern and southern hemispheres
- 20. the study of celestial objects, space, and the universe
- 22. A region in the solar system roughly located between the orbits of the planets Jupiter and Mars that contains millions of irregularly shaped pieces of rock (called asteroids) as well as ice and dust.
- 24. enormous explosion that destroys a star
- 29. phase occurs when more of the Moon’s near side is lit each night
- 30. The orbital region around a star in which an Earth-like planet can possess liquid water on its surface and possibly support life.
- 32. meteoroid that strikes a planet or moon
- 33. When Earth or the Moon fully blocks light from the Sun.
- 34. hot, dense, slowly cooling sphere of carbon