Out of this world

Across

3. Not considered a planet anymore

5. First person to use a telescope to view space

6. The sun and its orbiting planets make up the _____ ________.

11. An enormous grouping of stars bound together by gravity.

17. Used to view space from Earth

19. The distance from the Earth to the sun

21. A star explosion

22. A sphere of hot gas

23. Results when energized particles from the sun react with Earth's magnetic field

24. Small bodies of rock that orbit the sun

25. The path of one smaller object around a larger, fixed mass.

26. _________ Rover landed on Mars this past August.

Down

1. There are eight of them in this galaxy

2. Planets such as Mars, Venus, Earth and Mercury are _______ planets. 4. A measurement of distance equal to about 5.9 trillion miles

7. The galaxy containing our solar system

8. Planets such as Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are ____ ______.

9. Scientist who determined we were part of a heliocentric solar system.

10. The natural satellite of Earth

12. Planet known for its rings.

13. Small ice particle that burns up in Earth's atmosphere, also known as a shooting star

14. Cloud of gas and dust

15. Smaller stars are called _______ stars.

16. A ball of ice and dust that often has a tail

18. Largest galactic body in our solar system.

20. Star formations that resemble different objects and figures