Science & Nature
EasySolar System Crossword: Solar System Neighbors
Category: Science & NatureDifficulty: Easy13 × 15
Monday, September 7
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Enter one letter per square. Answers run Across or Down. Omit spaces and accents; any special spelling convention is stated in the clue. This is a freeform themed grid, so some letters are not crossed.
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About This Theme
Take a short trip through the solar system without leaving the grid. This puzzle mixes planet names with the words used for smaller bodies and the objects that circle them. The clues avoid changing moon counts and ask instead about lasting, recognizable features. A name you learned years ago may be enough to open the first corner. When you reach a general term, check whether the clue describes an object, its classification, or its position relative to the Sun.
Clues
Across
- 1Star at the center of our solar system (3)
- 4World reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006 (5)
- 5Eighth planet from the Sun (7)
- 6Rocky small body, many found between Mars and Jupiter (8)
- 9Icy small body that can develop a tail near the Sun (5)
- 11Seventh planet from the Sun (6)
Down
- 1Gas giant famous for its prominent rings (6)
- 2Largest planet in our solar system (7)
- 3Second planet from the Sun (5)
- 7Our home planet (5)
- 8Planet nearest the Sun (7)
- 10Planet often called the Red Planet (4)
Answers and Explanations
After Your Solve
The planet answers are a useful starting point, but the classification words do more of the teaching. PLUTO is still an important solar-system world even though it is classified as a dwarf planet. COMET and ASTEROID describe different kinds of small bodies; neither word simply means a tiny planet. Reviewing those distinctions is more useful than treating the completed grid as a memorization test. The shortest answer, SUN, is the object that organizes the whole theme.
- 1 acrossSUN
The Sun is a star, not a planet.
- 4 acrossPLUTO
Pluto remains a solar-system body, but not one of the eight planets.
- 5 acrossNEPTUNE
Neptune is the outermost of the eight planets.
- 6 acrossASTEROID
Many asteroids orbit in the main asteroid belt.
- 9 acrossCOMET
Heating can release gas and dust from a comet.
- 11 acrossURANUS
Uranus is an ice giant.
- 1 downSATURN
Saturn's rings are its most recognizable feature.
- 2 downJUPITER
Jupiter is a gas giant.
- 3 downVENUS
Venus lies between Mercury and Earth in orbital order.
- 7 downEARTH
Earth is the third planet from the Sun.
- 8 downMERCURY
Mercury is the innermost planet.
- 10 downMARS
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun.
Further Reading
- Theme referencescience.nasa.gov
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