LexiTopic: Astronomy

The LexiConnexxions analysis has identified 62 words that are used in 64 different ways related to Astronomy in the A-O portion of Spelling Bee lexicon, which comprises 74% of the entire lexicon.  

The list is given below, followed by the topical analysis, with definitions.
Words marked with an asterisk have been used in at least one Spelling Bee puzzle, then subsequently disallowed; they are retained here for historical interest.

Words Related to ASTRONOMY in the Spelling Bee lexicon: Word List

Words Related to ASTRONOMY in the Spelling Bee lexicon: Definitions

ALTITUDINAL: related to the angular elevation of a celestial object above the horizonANOMALY: the angular distance of a planet from its perihelion as seen from the sunAPOGEE: the point in the orbit of an object (such as a satellite) orbiting the earth that is at the greatest distance from the center of the earth; also: the point farthest from a planet or a satellite (such as the moon) reached by an object orbiting itAPOLLO*: M-W capitalizes Apollo: any of a class of asteroids having an orbit that extends from inside to beyond the earth's orbit. AURORA: a luminous phenomenon that consists of streamers or arches of light appearing in the upper atmosphere of a planet's magnetic polar regionsAURORAL: having to do with a luminous phenomenon that consists of streamers or arches of light appearing in the upper atmosphere of a planet's magnetic polar regionsBELT: the asteroid belt; the region of interplanetary space between the orbits of a beltway: a highway skirting an urban area Mars and Jupiter in which most asteroids are foundBINARY: a binary star, a system of two stars that revolve around each other under their mutual gravitationCHANGE: the passage of the moon from one monthly revolution to another; also: the passage of the moon from one phase to another; also, of the moon: to pass from one phase to anotherCHANGED: the passage of the moon from one monthly revolution to another; also: the passage of the moon from one phase to another; also, of the moon: to pass from one phase to anotherCHANGING: the passage of the moon from one monthly revolution to another; also: the passage of the moon from one phase to another; also, of the moon: to pass from one phase to anotherCLOUD: an aggregation of usually obscuring matter especially in interstellar spaceCOMA: the head of a comet consisting of a cloud of gas and dust and usually containing a nucleusCOMET: a celestial body that appears as a fuzzy head usually surrounding a bright nucleus, that has a usually highly eccentric orbit, that consists primarily of ice and dust, and that often develops one or more long tails when near the sunCOMPANION: a celestial body that appears close to another but that may or may not be associated with it in spaceCONTACT: the apparent touching or mutual tangency of the limbs of two celestial bodies or of the disk of one body with the shadow of another during an eclipse, transit, or occultation CORONA: a usually colored circle often seen around and close to a luminous body (such as the sun or moon) caused by diffraction produced by suspended droplets or occasionally particles of dust; or the tenuous outermost part of the atmosphere of a star (such as the sun); or a circle of light made by the apparent convergence of the streamers of the aurora borealisCYCLE: an imaginary circle or orbit in the heavensDAWN: the first appearance of light in the morning followed by sunrise; to begin to grow light as the sun risesDAWNED: the first appearance of light in the morning followed by sunrise; to begin to grow light as the sun risesDAWNING: the first appearance of light in the morning followed by sunrise; to begin to grow light as the sun risesECLIPTIC: of or relating to an eclipse, or to the ecliptic: the great circle of the celestial sphere that is the apparent path of the sun among the stars or of the earth as seen from the sun: the plane of the earth's orbit extended to meet the celestial sphereEPOCH: an instant of time or a date selected as a point of reference (as in astronomy)FLAT: of a universe: having a mass such that expansion halts only after infinite time and collapse never occursFULL: being a full moon: completely illuminatedGALACTIC: of or relating to a galaxy and especially the Milky Way galaxyGEOLOGY: a study of the solid matter of a celestial body (such as the moon)GIANT: astronomy: a star of high luminosity and relatively great mass and size (a red giant)GLOBAL: of or relating to a spherical celestial body (such as the moon)GLOBE: a spherical representation of the earth, a celestial body, or the heavens; or the Earth, often capitalized: the planet on which we live that is third in order from the sunHALO: a circle of light appearing to surround the sun or moon and resulting from refraction or reflection of light by ice particles in the atmosphereHALO: a region of space surrounding a galaxy that is sparsely populated with luminous objects (such as globular clusters) but is believed to contain a great deal of dark matterHEAVEN: the expanse of space that seems to be over the earth like a dome: the firmament; used in plural (the brightest star in the heavens)HEAVENLY: of or relating to heaven or the heavens: celestial (e.g., celestial bodies)HELIACAL: relating to or near the sun —used especially of the last setting of a star before and its first rising after invisibility due to conjunction with the sunHOUR: an angular unit of right ascension equal to 15 degrees measured along the celestial equatorLAMP: a celestial bodyLAND: the solid part of the surface of a celestial body (such as the moon)LATITUDINAL: of or relating to latitude: angular distance of a celestial body from the eclipticLIGHT: a celestial bodyLIMB: the outer edge of the apparent disk of a celestial bodyLUNAR: of, relating to, or resembling the moonMANTLE: regolith: unconsolidated residual or transported material that overlies the solid rock on the earth, moon, or a planet MARTIAN: of or relating to the planet Mars or its hypothetical inhabitants; from Mars, the god of warMEDIA: plural of medium: the tenuous material (such as gas and dust) in space that exists outside large agglomerations of matter (such as stars) (interstellar medium)MEDIUM: the tenuous material (such as gas and dust) in space that exists outside large agglomerations of matter (such as stars) (interstellar medium)a go-between, an intermediaryMOON: often capitalized: the earth's natural satellite that shines by the sun's reflected light, revolves about the earth from west to east in about 29¹/₂ days with reference to the sun or about 27¹/₃ days with reference to the stars, and has a diameter of 2160 miles (3475 kilometers), a mean distance from the earth of about 238,900 miles (384,400 kilometers), and a mass about one eightieth that of the earth; also, one complete moon cycle consisting of four phases; also, a satellite, a celestial body orbiting another of larger size; specifically: a natural satellite of a planet (the moons of Jupiter)MOONBEAM: a ray of light from the moonMOONLIT: lighted by the moonMOONY: of or relating to the moonNADIR: the point of the celestial sphere that is directly opposite the zenith and vertically downward from the observerNIGHT: the time from dusk to dawn when no sunlight is visible; the beginning of darkness: nightfallNIGHTLY: at or by night; happening, done, or used by night or every night; of or relating to the night or every nightNIGHTTIME: the time from dusk to dawnNODAL: being, relating to, or located at or near a node:either of the two points where the orbit of a planet or comet intersects the ecliptic; also: either of the points at which the orbit of an earth satellite crosses the plane of the equatorNODE: either of the two points where the orbit of a planet or comet intersects the ecliptic; also: either of the points at which the orbit of an earth satellite crosses the plane of the equatorNOON: midday; specifically: 12 o'clock at middayNOONDAY: noon; midday; the middle of the dayNOONTIDE: noontime; the time of noon: middayNOVA: a star that suddenly increases its light output tremendously and then fades away to its former obscurity in a few months or yearsNOVAE: plural of nova, a star that suddenly increases its light output tremendously and then fades away to its former obscurity in a few months or yearsNUCLEI: plural of nucleus, the small bright body in the head of a comet; also, the small brighter and denser portion of a galaxy, any of the very large groups of stars and associated matter that are found throughout the universe
OPEN: of a universe: having insufficient mass to halt expansion gravitationallyORBIT: a path described by one body in its revolution about another (as by the earth about the sun or by an electron about an atomic nucleus); also: one complete revolution of a body describing such a path; also, to revolve in an orbit around: to circle