Space Word Search No. 1

Here's a word search puzzle on the theme of space. It's a bit tricky so you may need a bit of help. Nah you can do it!
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Draw a ring around the words when you find them. This one's a bit tricky as the words can read up, down, across or diagonal. And here's what the words mean...

ALIEN
An alien is a being from outer space. They come in all shapes and sizes. Some people believe in aliens and others do not. When Plumpy visited the Moon he didn’t see any aliens but there may be a surprise in store for all you Plumpy fans out there. Watch this space!

APOLLO
Apollo was the name of the program carried out which landed the first men on the Moon in the Apollo 11 mission.

ASTEROID
Asteroids are really just small planets that go round the Sun and are mainly made of rock. There are millions of asteroids, many of which orbit the Sun in the asteroid belt between the planets Mars and Jupiter.

ASTRONAUT
An astronaut is someone who is trained to travel in a space ship. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first astronauts to walk on the Moon. Or was it actually astronaut Plumpy?

ATMOSPHERE
The gases that surround a planet (like the air on the Earth) are known as an atmosphere. There is hardly any atmosphere on the Moon, which is why Plumpy needed a space helmet to breath when he went there.

COMET
Comets are made of ice, small bits of rock and dust, and orbit around the Sun. When they get near the Sun they warm up and release gases. Some comets have tails (just like Plumpy!).

CRATER
A crater is the hole that’s left on a planet’s surface after an impact from a large body such as an asteroid or meteor. Plumpy saw lots of craters when he was on the Moon.

EARTH
The Earth is the name of the planet where we live. It’s the third planet from the Sun in out solar system and is sometimes called ‘the third rock from the sun’. This isn’t the sort of rock you get at the seaside – that’s a stick of rock. Don’t get confused like in ‘Plumpy The Pharaoh’ book.

GRAVITY
Gravity is what keeps us from floating off in to space. If you drop a Plumpy toy it will fall down towards the ground under the effect of gravity. Here’s the funny thing – all things have gravity, you, me and also Plumpy!

MARS
The fourth planet from the Sun is Mars – it’s our nextdoor neighbour. Mars is also known as the Red Planet due to its colour. There are plans to send people to Mars in the not too distant future.

MOON
The Moon is the big shiny thing in the sky that isn’t the Sun. The Moon travels around the Earth. The Moon shines because sunlight is reflected off it. The gravity of the Moon causes the tides of our oceans – that’s when the sea goes in and out.

ORBIT
The course of a planet round the Sun, or the Moon round the Earth is called its orbit. The Moon, for instance, is kept in orbit round the Earth by gravity.

ORION
Orion is a group (or constellation) of stars that can be seen in the night sky. It got its name from Orion, a hunter in Greek mythology. The stars form the shape of the hunter. The three bright stars in the constellation are known as Orion’s Belt. If these three stars weren’t there, Orion’s trousers would fall down!

PLANET
A planet is a round object that orbits a star. Our own Earth is a planet and is mainly made of rock. Some planets are formed of gas, such as Jupiter and Saturn.

PLUTO
It’s a bit sad about Pluto. It used to be a proper planet but is now thought of as a dwarf planet as scientists have discovered lots of other little planets about the same size as Pluto. Like the Earth, Pluto orbits the Sun, but is much, much further away and because of this it’s very cold there.

ROCKET
Rockets are tall, thin vehicles, which are used to take people and things in to space. The engines they use are also called rockets and burn gas or liquid fuel to propel the vehicle along. Plumpy used a rocket to travel to the Moon.

SATELLITE
A satellite is an object, which orbits a planet or star. Our Moon is a natural satellite but we also make satellites on Earth and get them in to orbit on space rockets. Some satellites are used so we can talk to each other on mobile phones. Other satellites are used for spying – they have powerful cameras, which could spot Plumpy from space!

SATURN
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun. It is made of gas and is the second largest planet in our Solar System. Saturn has rings of ice around it and has over sixty moons, which seems a bit greedy!

SOLAR SYSTEM
All the planets, asteroids and other objects, which orbit our Sun, all form part of the Solar System. It’s very big and very old, having formed over four and a half billion years ago!

STAR
A star is a bright point of light in our night sky. Stars are just like our Sun but are a very far away so appear small. Each star is made of gas and is very hot. We see patterns in the stars and call these patterns constellations

SUN
The Sun, which we see in the sky, is a star at the centre of our solar system. Our Earth and all the other planets move around the Sun. It is made of gas and burns at a very high temperature like all the other stars in the sky. It provides us with light and heat. Plumpy uses the brightness of the Sun to escape a dinosaur in ‘Plumy Gets a Fright’ – watch out for the new book!

TELESCOPE
A telescope is an instrument that is used to make distant things appear nearer. Astronomers use them to make the stars and planets look closer so that they can study them. Plumpy sometimes uses a telescope to spot far off boxes of Dog Munch – his favourite food!

UFO
UFO stands for Unidentified Flying Object. It’s something that we can’t identify or explain. It may be an alien spacecraft or just Plumpy’s favourite blorange balloons floating in the sky.

UNIVERSE
The Universe is everything in space – the Earth, the planets, the Sun, the stars, you, me and don’t forget Plumpy! The Universe is very big and the amazing thing is that it’s getting bigger every day!

Plumpy goes in to space in the Plumpy Goes To The Moon book. Read the book and find out what happens!