The Solar System Word Search

About this puzzle

A tour of our neighborhood in space: the eight planets in order from the Sun (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune), the dwarf planet Pluto, and the smaller objects that share the solar system with them — asteroids, comets, the Moon and the icy Kuiper Belt beyond Neptune. ORBIT ties the list together: everything on it travels around something else.

The default layout is Easy on a 10×10 grid. Easy, Medium and Hard each use their own checked layout of the same words, and every one can be printed in standard or large print on US Letter or A4.

Word notes

Mercury

The planet closest to the Sun and the smallest of the eight; a year there lasts just 88 Earth days.

Venus

The hottest planet — hotter even than Mercury — because its thick carbon dioxide atmosphere traps heat.

Mars

Called the Red Planet because iron oxide — rust — colors its dusty surface.

Jupiter

The largest planet in the solar system.

Saturn

Famous for its bright rings, made of countless pieces of ice and rock.

Neptune

The farthest planet from the Sun, with the fastest winds measured anywhere in the solar system.

Pluto

Reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006.

Comet

A ball of ice and dust; as it nears the Sun it can grow a glowing tail that always points away from the Sun.

Kuiper Belt

A region of icy bodies beyond Neptune, where Pluto orbits.

Try this after the puzzle

After the puzzle, put the eight planets in order from the Sun. A classic memory sentence helps: "My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nachos." Then challenge solvers to write their own sentence using the same first letters.

All 14 words

Mercury · Venus · Earth · Mars · Jupiter · Saturn · Uranus · Neptune · Pluto · Asteroid · Moon · Orbit · Comet · Kuiper Belt