Space Terms

3. An astronomical body that orbits a planet or a dwarf planet.
5. A man-made body placed in orbit around the earth, moon, or another planet to collect information or for communication.
7. The curved path of a celestial object or spacecraft around a star, planet, or moon.
8. A large, remote incandescent body like the sun that maintains a fixed luminous point in the night sky.
10. The collection of eight planets and their moons in orbit around the sun along with smaller bodies such as asteroids, meteoroids and comets.
12. A system of millions or billions of stars that are held together by gravitational attraction along with dust and gas.
13. An celestial object made of a nucleus of ice and dust. When it is near the sun, a ‘tail’ of gas and dust particles point away from the sun.

1. A spot or patch that appears from time to time on the sun’s surface. It appears to be dark because it contrasts with the bright surface of the sun.
2. A piece of rock or metal that has fallen to the earth’s surface as a meteor.
3. A small body of matter that comes from outer space and enters the earth’s atmosphere. As it enters, it emits light as a result of friction and appears as a streak of light.
4. A body in space moving in an elliptical orbit around a star.
6. A unit of astronomical distance equal to the distance that light travels in one year.
9. A small rocky body that orbits the sun. They are found between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter in large numbers and range in size.
11. The star in the middle of our solar system.