Across
- 3. the phase of the lunar cycle after a Full Moon and before a New Moon, where the illuminated portion of the moon appears to decrease in size, moving from fully lit to completely shadowed
- 4. a regular, repeating curved path that an object or celestial body, such as a planet, moon, or satellite, takes around another body, such as a star or planet
- 8. a shape that is an elongated circle or oval
- 11. the innermost, darkest part of a shadow, where the light source is completely blocked by an occluding object
- 14. the lighter, grayish outer part of a shadow that surrounds the darkest part (the umbra), where a light source is only partially obscured
- 15. the colossal, incredibly bright explosion of a star at the end of its life, which momentarily outshines an entire galaxy
- 17. the outermost, tenuous layer of the Sun’s atmosphere, extending millions of kilometers into space
- 18. to move in a circle or orbit around a central point, or to turn on an axis
- 19. anything of, relating to, or resembling the Moon
- 20. a vast, interstellar cloud of dust, hydrogen, helium, and other ionized gases located in outer space
Down
- 1. the phase of the lunar cycle when the illuminated portion of the moon appears to increase in size, occurring between the new moon and the full moon
- 2. the luminous, visible surface layer of the Sun or a star
- 5. a real or imaginary straight line around which an object rotates
- 6. a rotating system composed of a flat, spinning disk containing stars, gas, and dust, along with a dense, bright central bulge
- 7. a celestial body composed primarily of silicate rocks, metals, or a solid surface, similar to Earth
- 9. a unit of length used by astronomers to measure distances within our solar system the average distance from the Earth to the Sun
- 10. a moment in time, occurring twice yearly (around March 20–21 and September 22–23), when the sun stands directly above Earth's equator
- 12. an astronomical event occurring twice yearly (around June 20–22 and December 20–22) when the Sun reaches its farthest northern or southern point from the equator, appearing to stand still
- 13. a large planet composed primarily of hydrogen and helium, featuring a thick, gaseous atmosphere and no well-defined solid surface
- 16. a sudden, intense explosion of energy and radiation—including light, X-rays, and gamma rays—released from the Sun's surface, typically near sunspots