Solar System Crossword Puzzle

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Solar System Crossword

Read each clue and write the answer in the squares that start at its number, one letter in each square.

This grid is wider than a phone screen, so it scrolls sideways. It prints whole.

Tap a square, and its clue shows here.

Across

Down

Word bank

  • Earth
  • Gas giant
  • Great Red Spot
  • Mars
  • Neptune
  • Olympus Mons
  • Rings
  • Saturn
  • Sun
  • Terrestrial

Type in a square and the next one takes over. Tap the same square again, or press Space, to switch between Across and Down. Arrow keys move around the grid, Enter goes to the next clue, and a clue takes you to its squares.

Print gives 2 pages on Letter or A4: the puzzle with its clues, then the answer key. The squares print 9 mm wide. For a PDF, choose Save as PDF in the print window.

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Answer key: Solar System Crossword

1G2R3O4TERRESTRIALENY5EARTHGMT6SSPRUU7NEPTUNESDM8GASGIANTOPNO9MARS10SATURN

Across 4 TERRESTRIAL · 5 EARTH · 7 NEPTUNE · 8 GASGIANT · 9 MARS · 10 SATURN

Down 1 GREATREDSPOT · 2 RINGS · 3 OLYMPUSMONS · 6 SUN

Next step Next: put the planets in order on the diagram

All 44 clues

Show all clues and answers

The Sun and Planets 14

  • Earth Third planet, the only one known to have life
  • Gas giant Kind of planet made mostly of hydrogen and helium
  • Great Red Spot Huge storm on the largest planet, wider than our world
  • Jupiter Largest planet, with a storm wider than our world
  • Mars Fourth planet, red from rusty dust
  • Mercury Smallest planet and the closest to our star
  • Neptune Blue ice giant, the farthest planet from our star
  • Olympus Mons Giant volcano on the red planet
  • Rings Bands of ice and rock around the sixth planet
  • Saturn Ringed giant so light for its size it would float in water
  • Sun The star at the center, holding the planets on their paths
  • Terrestrial Word for the four rocky inner planets
  • Uranus Ice giant tipped over so it spins on its side
  • Venus Hottest planet, wrapped in thick clouds

Moons and Small Bodies 15

  • Asteroid Rocky body, smaller than a planet, orbiting our star
  • Ceres Small round world in the belt between the fourth and fifth planets
  • Charon Largest moon of the small icy world reclassified in 2006
  • Comet Icy body that grows a glowing tail near our star
  • Dwarf planet Round body orbiting our star that has not cleared its path
  • Europa Icy moon with an ocean under its crust
  • Ganymede Largest moon in the whole solar system
  • Io Moon of the largest planet, covered in active volcanoes
  • Kuiper belt Ring of icy bodies beyond the eighth planet
  • Meteor Streak of light as a space rock burns in the air
  • Meteorite Space rock that reaches the ground
  • Phobos Larger of the two small moons of the red planet
  • Pluto Small icy world called the ninth planet until 2006
  • Titan Largest moon of the ringed planet, with a thick hazy air
  • Triton Big moon that circles its planet backwards

Space Words 15

  • Astronaut Person trained to travel in space
  • Axis Imaginary line a planet spins around
  • Crater Bowl-shaped hole left by an impact
  • Eclipse When one body blocks the light from another
  • Galaxy Huge system of billions of stars, like the Milky Way
  • Gravity Pull that keeps the planets on their paths
  • Light year Unit of about 9.46 trillion kilometers, used for distances to stars
  • Orbit Curved path of one body around another
  • Orrery Solar system model, mechanical, with moving parts
  • Revolution One full trip around our star, which makes a year
  • Rotation One spin of a planet, which makes day and night
  • Satellite Any object that orbits a planet
  • Season Spring, summer, fall or winter, caused by the tilt
  • Solar wind Stream of charged particles blowing out from our star
  • Telescope Instrument that makes faraway objects look closer

How this list was compiled: 44 clues written for this site in three sets: the Sun and the eight planets, moons, dwarf planets and smaller bodies, and the words of a space unit. Facts were checked against Wikipedia's article on each body and term. No clue was copied from a published puzzle. Licence: own work

How it works

This solar system crossword puzzle draws from 44 clues: the Sun and eight planets, the big moons, dwarf planets and space rocks, and the words of a space unit, from Orbit to Orrery.

Read the full guide

Three sets, easiest first

The Sun and Planets suits younger classes: each planet is clued by the fact a lesson teaches, such as Venus the hottest. Moons and Small Bodies adds Titan, Europa, Ceres and the Kuiper belt. Space Words holds Rotation, Revolution, Eclipse and the rest.

Printing for a class

The answer key prints on the last sheet. Turn the word bank off under More options for older pupils. On a tablet, tap a square and type.

  • Stuck on a planet? Say the order out loud, Mercury to Neptune, and match each clue to a place in the line.
  • Clues call planets the fourth or the largest rather than naming them, so no clue gives another answer away.

Questions and answers

Is there a solar system crossword with answers?

Yes. The key is the last printed sheet, and Show all clues and answers, below the grid, lists every one of the 44 space clues with its answer.

Is Pluto a planet in this crossword?

No. Pluto is clued as the small icy world called the ninth planet until 2006, when astronomers reclassified it as a dwarf planet. The planets set has the eight planets and the Sun.

What grade is a solar system crossword for?

The Sun and Planets fits grades 3 to 6. The moons and space words fit middle school earth science. Those bands are our own guide, not a standard.

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