100+ Space Words

November 30, 2023

As long as humans have been on Earth, we have been curious about what is beyond. If this describes you, here are some space words you need to know!

Related:

Words Related to Nature

Table of Contents

Constellation

First on our list of space words is constellation, which basically means a collection of stars that ancients and experts have grouped together. Two of the most common groups of stars or constellations are The Big Dipper and Little Dipper. But did you know that you can spot your zodiac sign?

Constellations were not just created for fun, though; they help people navigate using the stars.

Solar System

We are part of the solar system, but what exactly is it? Objects in space like to orbit around bigger or denser objects. This is thanks to the gravitational pull those objects give off.

A star system is referred to as a group of planets and other space objects revolving around a star. Ours is specifically called a solar system thanks to our star having a name, sun, or Sol in Latin.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

NASA is the United States’ space exploration administration, which was officially created on October 1st, 1958. This was in response to the Soviet advancements in space exploration. Since then, they have sent numerous humans and robots to space. They have also collected samples and given us clues not only about the stars but about life on Earth as well.

Big Bang Theory

The Big Bang Theory is the most accepted reason for how our entire universe began and a pretty important space word to know. The idea is that all matter in our universe came about at the same time. Basically, all matter was once in one place, an extremely dense ball known as the singularity. That ball suddenly expanded outwards at an extreme rate, throwing matter in all directions and creating the universe we know today.

Black Hole

A black hole can form for many reasons, the main one being a star dying. When matter collapses in on itself, it becomes extremely dense and has a strong gravitational pull. This gravitational pull is so strong actually that nothing can escape it, including light. This is why we call it a black hole; from our perspective, there is nothing there since light can’t escape.

Gravity

You might have seen this space word used a few times in this article alone. In simple terms, gravity is what pulls objects together in space. How much mass an object has decides how strong its gravitational pull is. Think of space as a blanket pulled between two people. Setting a bowling ball in the middle will cause the fabric to dip. Then, setting a ping ball around the edge will cause it to rotate around the bowling ball, slowly getting pulled closer.

Milky Way

The Milky Way is one of many galaxies in space, and more importantly, it’s ours! A galaxy is a collection of multiple stars and their systems, along with gas and dust, that all stick together thanks to gravity. The Milky Way is the galaxy we call home. It is named after the white, hazy appearance it makes in our night sky. Galaxies also come in many shapes; the Milky Way is a barred spiral galaxy.

Light Years

A light year is a form of measurement based on how far light travels in one Earth year. While we are only making one rotation around the sun, light has already traveled about 6 trillion miles away.

Since things in space are so big and so far apart, we use light years to measure the distance. For example, the Milky Way galaxy that we mentioned previously is 100,000 light-years across. Even on our fastest space shuttle, it would take us 37,200 years to go just one light year.