THE WORDWHEEL GUIDE

Astronomy vocabulary game

Astronomy vocabulary lets you describe what an object is and how it moves, even before you learn to find it in the sky. This pack introduces stars, small Solar System objects, stellar remnants and a few words used in observing and reading space news.

Updated September 25, 2026

Play Astronomy →Read the 39-term glossary

For stargazers, space enthusiasts and introductory astronomy learners.

What to notice as you learn

A comet is an icy body that can release gas and dust near the Sun. A meteor is the light phenomenon produced as a space particle enters an atmosphere. A nova is a stellar outburst, not the formation of a new star.

After finding a term, decide whether it names an object, a motion, a physical effect or a description. Make a sentence that distinguishes it from a similar-looking word, then recall it from the review prompt.

How this topic game works

There are 13 levels in this starter pack. Each accepts only words from the Astronomy glossary below. Use the required highlighted letter and each tile at most once. Find 3–5 matching terms on the same wheel to complete each level, with no timer. Keep collecting words until the count reaches the goal, then choose Next level. Each level offers extra valid answers beyond the goal. Any glossary term that fits the board counts, so a clue is a suggestion rather than a required answer.

Clues offer definitions and optional letter reveals. Three reveals are shared across a board and saved if you leave. Read the full meaning after a discovery for its example sentence and reference. Levels repeat after the last one. Review vocabulary is optional: use it to recall discovered words from their meanings, and keep a personal list of terms to practise again.

Astronomy glossary: 39 terms to practise

These are the pack’s complete vocabulary list. The notes and examples below are original introductory explanations by Wordwheel; references provide fuller context. A word may have other meanings outside this subject.

star: A luminous sphere of hot plasma, powered by fusion during much of its life.; Example: The Sun is the nearest star to Earth.; NASA Space Place · Glossary
orbit: The path of a body moving around another under gravity.; Example: The Moon follows an orbit around Earth.; NASA Space Place · Glossary
comet: An icy small body that can release gas and dust near a star.; Example: The comet develops a tail near the Sun.; NASA Space Place · Glossary
planet: In the Solar System, a nearly round body orbiting the Sun that has cleared its orbital neighborhood.; Example: Earth is a planet in the Solar System.; NASA Space Place · Glossary
nebula: An interstellar cloud of gas and dust.; Example: New stars can form inside a nebula.; NASA Space Place · Glossary
lunar: Relating to the Moon.; Example: The map shows the lunar surface.; NASA Space Place · Glossary
solar: Relating to the Sun.; Example: Solar activity can affect space weather.; NASA Space Place · Glossary
nova: A sudden stellar brightening, often from an eruption on an accreting white dwarf.; Example: Astronomers measure the nova as it brightens and fades.; NASA · Universe glossary
meteor: The light phenomenon caused by a space particle entering an atmosphere.; Example: A bright meteor crosses the night sky.; NASA Space Place · Glossary
gravity: The attraction associated with mass that shapes the motion of astronomical bodies.; Example: Gravity keeps a planet in orbit.; NASA Space Place · Glossary
pulsar: A rotating neutron star whose beams can be observed as regular pulses.; Example: The radio telescope detects pulses from a pulsar.; NASA · Universe glossary
space: The region beyond Earth’s atmosphere, extending between celestial bodies.; Example: The spacecraft travels through space.; NASA Space Place · Glossary
sun: The star at the centre of the Solar System.; Example: Earth orbits the Sun.; NASA Space Place · Glossary
moon: A natural satellite of a planet or another non-stellar body.; Example: The Moon is Earth’s natural satellite.; NASA Space Place · Glossary
mars: The fourth planet from the Sun.; Example: Mars has two small moons.; NASA Space Place · Glossary
venus: The second planet from the Sun.; Example: Venus has a thick atmosphere.; NASA Space Place · Glossary
earth: The third planet from the Sun.; Example: Earth has one natural moon.; NASA Space Place · Glossary
ray: A narrow path or beam of radiation; also a bright streak of impact ejecta.; Example: A bright ray extends from the lunar crater.; NASA · Universe glossary
gas: Matter in a diffuse fluid state, a major component of many astronomical clouds.; Example: The nebula contains gas and dust.; NASA · Universe glossary
dust: Small solid particles found between stars and around many astronomical objects.; Example: Dust absorbs and scatters starlight.; NASA · Universe glossary
mass: A measure of inertia and a source of gravity.; Example: A star’s mass strongly influences its evolution.; NASA · Universe glossary
tail: Material extending from a comet under the effects of sunlight or the solar wind.; Example: The comet’s ion tail points away from the Sun.; NASA Space Place · Glossary
pole: An endpoint of a body’s rotation axis on its surface, or its projected direction in the sky.; Example: The telescope points near the north celestial pole.; NASA Space Place · Glossary
ring: Material orbiting a body in a broad, thin band.; Example: Saturn has an extensive ring system.; NASA Space Place · Glossary
belt: A broad region containing many orbiting objects.; Example: The asteroid belt lies mainly between Mars and Jupiter.; NASA Space Place · Glossary
core: The central region of a star, planet or other astronomical body.; Example: Fusion occurs in the Sun’s core.; NASA Space Place · Glossary
ion: An atom or group of atoms carrying a net electric charge.; Example: Charged particles form the comet’s ion tail.; IUPAC Gold Book · Ion
halo: A roughly surrounding distribution of matter or light, such as a galaxy’s extended stellar halo.; Example: Old stars occupy the galaxy’s halo.; NASA · Universe glossary
light: Electromagnetic radiation, especially the part visible to human eyes.; Example: The telescope collects light from the star.; NASA · Universe glossary
flare: A sudden release of energy producing increased brightness on a star.; Example: A solar flare releases radiation.; NASA Space Place · Glossary
phase: The apparent illuminated portion of a body such as the Moon.; Example: The Moon’s phase changes during its orbit.; NASA Space Place · Glossary
transit: An event in which an object passes in front of another from an observer’s viewpoint.; Example: The planet’s transit slightly dims the star.; NASA · Universe glossary
zenith: The point in the sky directly above an observer.; Example: The object passes near the zenith.; NASA · Universe glossary
nadir: The direction directly below an observer, opposite the zenith.; Example: The nadir lies opposite the overhead point.; NASA · Universe glossary
axis: The imaginary line about which a body rotates.; Example: Earth rotates about its axis.; NASA Space Place · Glossary
disk: A flattened distribution of material or the apparent circular face of an object.; Example: Gas moves within an accretion disk.; NASA · Universe glossary
virgo: A constellation through which the ecliptic passes.; Example: The observer locates the galaxy in Virgo.; NASA · Universe glossary
rigel: A bright blue supergiant star in the constellation Orion.; Example: Rigel marks one of Orion’s feet.; NASA · Universe glossary
vega: A bright star in the constellation Lyra.; Example: Vega is one of the stars of the Summer Triangle.; NASA · Universe glossary

References and further reading

These organizations are reference sources, not sponsors or endorsers of the game. Follow their material to explore the subject beyond this short pack.

Continue your vocabulary practice

Topic discoveries and review choices are saved only in this browser. Practice scores stay separate from public rankings. You can return to the original general-vocabulary game at any time.