Across
- 1. a network of connected filaments that are made up of gas and dark matter which contains nearly all galaxies and galaxy clusters, was formed by dark matter early in the history of the universe, and provides structure to the universe
- 3. SLS; the name of the rocket which will first bring astronauts back to the moon and then send them to Mars in a later mission
- 5. the theory in which the planets orbit around the Sun
- 6. the study of celestial objects, space, stars, galaxies, and the universe itself
- 8. the smallest planet in our solar system and the closest planet to the Sun
- 10. the galaxy that is home to Supernova 1987A, the nearest supernova to us in the last 400 years
- 15. a group of three stars that are gravitationally bound together
- 16. the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- 17. a theoretical point of infinite smallness and infinite density
- 18. the mysterious expansion force which does not interact with electromagnetic radiation but is causing the expansion rate of the universe to accelerate
- 21. the event in which the universe formed from a very small point around 13.8 billion years ago
- 29. a theoretical ending for the universe in which the universe will continue to expand forever; also known as the "big chill"
- 30. the name of the first person in space and the first person to orbit Earth
- 31. a planet that orbits a star besides the Sun (hint: this is short for "extrasolar planet")
- 32. a theory created by Albert Einstein in 1919 that is considered to be a part of the laws of physics of our universe
- 33. a pulsar that rotates more than 1,000 times per second
- 36. Jupiter's fourth largest moon, which has the deepest oceans in the solar system and could possibly harbor life or lifelike ingredients
- 37. the first private space company to launch a manned space mission
- 39. a black hole with a mass between 100 and 100,000 solar masses
- 41. pulsating radio source; a quickly-spinning neutron star which emits beams of radio waves from its poles and rotates at a consistent rate
- 42. the name for the largest moon in our solar system (hint: this moon orbits the planet Jupiter)
- 45. the name for a star (or group of stars) and everything that orbits around it
- 47. a galaxy that has not completely finished forming
- 48. the name for the most abundant element in the universe (hint: this element is the simplest element in the universe and has an atomic mass of 1.00794)
- 49. the last name of the first person to propose that the planets orbit around the Sun
- 50. another name of the universe itself
- 51. a type of neutron star that has an extremely strong magnetic field and emits spontaneous bursts of x-rays and gamma rays; these neutron stars have the strongest magnetic fields in the universe
- 53. a form of matter that does not interact with electromagnetic radiation or light but can be inferred by its gravitational effect on its surroundings
- 55. a nebula formed by a supernova explosion
- 58. a very large blue star with a mass of 30 or more solar masses
- 63. the name of the galaxy cluster in which our galaxy is found
- 64. 10 raised to the twelfth power (written as a number followed by 12 zeros)
- 65. the largest moon of the planet Neptune
- 66. the scientist who first predicted the existence of dark matter in the 1930s, long before Vera Rubin first discovered it
- 67. an event in which the moon appears larger from a place on Earth
- 68. a group of galaxies bound together by gravity
- 69. the name of the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy
- 70. a cloud of gas in interstellar space
Down
- 2. the fastest speed possible in our current universe; around 186,000 miles per second
- 4. the process by which a planet loses its atmosphere due to radiation from a star
- 7. a particle which is believed to somehow give all things mass
- 9. the name for the sixth largest moon of Saturn, which may harbor simple life forms in its underground oceans
- 11. a fundamental force of the universe which holds atoms together, prevents things from falling through one another (ex. humans do not fall through the floor because of this force), and causes interactions with magnetic and electric fields
- 12. a particle that is the main constituent of protons and neutrons
- 13. the first name of the scientist who invented the first telescope in 1608 and used it to discover the first moons of a planet other than Earth in 1610
- 14. a form of radiation predicted to be emitted by a black hole when one of two particles in a relationship becomes part of a black hole and the other particle in the pair steals energy from the black hole to change from a virtual particle to become a real particle in the universe
- 19. the fundamental force which pulls all objects in the universe towards each other
- 20. the energy that is stored within an object
- 22. the third largest galaxy in the Local Group, behind the Milky Way and Andromeda
- 23. the process of orbiting around something
- 24. the temperature at which a substance gains enough energy to change from a liquid to a gas
- 25. a wave that bends the "fabric" of spacetime, carries energy, and is often released by violent or large-scale events in the universe, such as black hole collisions and supernovae
- 26. ripples in the cosmic microwave background (hint: three words)
- 27. a star that is about 640 light-years from Earth and could explode at any time in the next 100,000 years
- 28. the closest star to Earth besides the Sun, located 4.3 light-years from Earth
- 34. microwave radiation from the early history of the universe, dating to only 380,000 years after the formation of the universe; another name for cosmic background radiation
- 35. the violent explosion of a star with more than 8 times the mass of the Sun when it runs out of fuel in its core, contracts, and rebounds, releasing a large amount of energy
- 38. a transition from one state to another; this can refer to a change in state of matter for one substance or it could refer to a change in the laws of physics of the universe that would result in the end of our current universe as we know it
- 40. an atom that has an electric charge
- 43. a group of stars that form a pattern in the sky but are not considered a constellation (hint: the Big Dipper can be considered one of these)
- 44. life that originated separately from life on Earth and is from another place in the universe
- 46. the astronomical term for the mass of the Sun
- 47. the fourth state of matter in which atoms lose their own electrons and gain an electric charge; this state of matter makes up stars and lightning
- 52. a theoretical ending of the universe in which gravity pulls all of the matter in the universe towards each other until a very small point is all that remains
- 54. a particle which makes up light
- 56. a supernova of a star with more than 100 times the mass of the Sun
- 57. a prefix that means "light" (hint: it is the first half of the word "photograph")
- 59. the name of the first American person to travel to space
- 60. the form of electromagnetic radiation with the shortest wavelength
- 61. the name of the galaxy in which we live
- 62. all of space and everything in it
- 67. the name of the rocket which brought the Apollo astronauts to the moon