Across
- 3. The curved, repeating path an object takes around a star, planet, or moon.
- 5. An extremely bright and distant object powered by a massive black hole at a galaxy's center.
- 7. A planet that orbits a star outside of our own solar system.
- 11. The fundamental force that attracts objects with mass toward one another.
- 12. A group of stars that form a recognizable pattern or shape, like Orion or the Big Dipper.
- 13. The center of a black hole where matter is crushed into a point of infinite density.
- 15. Hole A region of space where gravity is so strong that not even light can escape.
- 17. A small, rocky object that orbits the Sun, mostly found between Mars and Jupiter.
Down
- 1. A powerful and luminous explosion that marks the death of a massive star.
- 2. The distance light travels in one year, used to measure the vastness of space.
- 4. Any object, natural or man-made, that orbits a larger celestial body.
- 6. The stretching of light toward longer wavelengths as a galaxy moves away from us.
- 8. The process of the universe growing larger and the distance between galaxies increasing.
- 9. A massive system of billions of stars, gas, and dust held together by gravity.
- 10. A streak of light caused by a space rock burning up in Earth's atmosphere; a "shooting star."
- 14. A giant cloud of dust and gas in space, often acting as a "nursery" for new stars.
- 16. A "dirty snowball" of ice and dust that develops a glowing tail when near the Sun.
- 18. Matter An invisible substance that does not emit light but makes up most of the universe's mass.