Across
- 4. The largest object in the asteroid belt, classified as a dwarf planet.
- 6. Neptune's largest moon, known for its retrograde orbit and geysers of nitrogen gas.
- 7. The galaxy that contains our solar system, known for its spiral shape and central black hole.
- 8. The closest known star to our solar system, located just over four light-years away.
- 10. A massive, hot star that is significantly larger and brighter than the Sun.
- 14. A planet located outside our solar system, orbiting another star.
- 16. A hypothetical region of icy objects that surrounds the solar system, believed to be the source of long-period comets.
- 18. A sudden eruption of energy from the sun’s surface, often affecting space weather.
- 19. A unit of distance that represents how far light travels in one year, roughly 5.88 trillion miles.
- 23. A highly magnetized, rotating neutron star that emits beams of electromagnetic radiation.
- 24. A constellation in the northern sky, also known as the Swan, containing the star Deneb.
- 26. A planetary nebula located in the constellation Aquarius, known for its distinctive "eye" shape.
- 27. A small, dense star that is the remnant of a star like the Sun after it has exhausted its nuclear fuel.
- 28. A small fragment of rock or metal that burns up upon entering Earth's atmosphere.
Down
- 1. A region in space with a gravitational pull so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape from it.
- 2. A powerful and luminous explosion of a star at the end of its life cycle.
- 3. The nearest spiral galaxy to the Milky Way and on a collision course with our galaxy in a few billion years.
- 5. The closest star system to our solar system, including Alpha Centauri A, Alpha Centauri B, and Proxima Centauri.
- 7. A type of neutron star with an extremely strong magnetic field, stronger than typical magnetic fields.
- 9. A small rocky body that orbits the sun, mostly found in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
- 11. Saturn’s largest moon, known for its thick atmosphere and methane lakes.
- 12. A theoretical passage through space-time that could create shortcuts for long journeys across the universe.
- 13. A small icy body that orbits the sun, often developing a glowing tail when near it.
- 15. A pair of space probes launched by NASA to explore the outer planets and beyond, one of which is now the farthest human-made object from Earth.
- 17. The phenomenon where light from distant objects in space shifts toward the red end of the spectrum, indicating that the object is moving away.
- 20. A massive system of stars, gas, dust, and dark matter, bound together by gravity.
- 21. A four-dimensional hypercube, often used in science fiction to describe a structure that exists in multiple dimensions.
- 22. A highly energetic and distant active galactic nucleus, often emitting large amounts of radiation.
- 25. A large group of smaller galaxy clusters, among the largest known structures in the universe.