Across
- 2. A small body of ice, rock, and cosmic dust that follows an elliptical orbit around the sun and that gives off gas and dust in the form of a tail as it passes close to the sun.
- 4. An event in which the shadow of one celestial body falls on another.
- 7. A division of the year that is characterized by recurring weather conditions and determined by both Earth’s tilt relative to the sun and Earth’s position on its orbit around the sun.
- 8. The distance that light travels in one year; about 9.46 trillion kilometers.
- 11. A rotating cloud of gas and dust from which the sun and planets formed.
- 12. A small, rocky object that orbits the sun; most asteroids are located in a band between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
- 13. The path that a body follows as it travels around another body in space.
- 14. An instrument that collects light or other electromagnetic radiation from distant objects and concentrates it to make the objects appear larger or brighter.
- 15. A apparent shift in the position of an object when viewed from different locations.
Down
- 1. A disk of gas and dust orbiting a newly formed star, from which plants may eventually form.
- 3. In astronomy, the change in the sunlit area of one celestial body as seen from another celestial body; phases of the moon are caused by the changing positions of Earth, the sun, and the moon.
- 5. The average distance between Earth and the sun; approximately 150 million kilometers (symbol, AU).
- 6. Space and all matter and energy in it.
- 9. A collection of stars, dust, and gas bound together by gravity.
- 10. A force of attraction between objects due to their masses.