Across
- 4. This was once regarded as the ninth planet from the 16-DOWN, but was demoted to dwarf planet status by the IAU in 2006 (5)
- 5. This is the name of the first planet from the 16-DOWN, named after the messenger of the gods - and not Queen's Freddie _______ or the liquid that's in a thermometer! (7)
- 6. This is the name of the second planet from the 16-DOWN, and our nearest neighbour... no two planets get as close to each other as this one does to ours! (5)
- 8. Halley's _____, this travelling ball of ice and dust returns to the inner solar system once every 76 years (5)
- 10. The Big ____, hypothetical beginning of the universe, with all matter expanding rapidly outwards from a singularity (4)
- 12. The _________ Belt - a large ring of rocky objects between the orbits of 9-DOWN and 1-DOWN, including the dwarf planet Ceres (8)
- 13. The Milky ___, this is the name of the galaxy our solar system is in... and also a chocolate bar, like 9-DOWN! (3)
- 16. The I.S.S. or the International Space _______, this artificial satellite orbits our planet and is crewed by 7 people - you can get text alerts from NASA of when to see it in the sky! (7)
- 17. The subject of a million jokes because of its name, this gas giant is the seventh planet from the 16-DOWN (6)
Down
- 1. This is the name of the fifth planet from the 16-DOWN, a gas giant named after the Roman king of the gods, and the biggest of all the planets! (7)
- 2. This is the name (in English) of the third planet from the sun, Sol3, the one we live on... and the only place in the universe known to harbour life! (5)
- 3. This is the name of the eighth (and farthest) planet from the 16-DOWN, a gas giant, named after the Roman god of the sea and noted for its blue colour (7)
- 7. This is the name of the sixth planet from the 16-DOWN, a gas giant noted for its beautiful ring system (6)
- 9. A chocolate bar? Well, yes... but it's also the red planet, the fourth one out from the 16-DOWN! (4)
- 11. This is someone who travels into space - famous ones include Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins (9)
- 14. Twinkle twinkle little ____? Up close, this is anything but little - it's a gigantic, burning sphere of plasma (4)
- 15. The ____ - this is is what (in English) we call our planet's only natural satellite. It can be in new, crescent, quarter, gibbous and full stages (4)
- 16. The ___, the heart of the solar system, this 14-DOWN is the source of heat, light and life for us all (3)
