There are so many astronomical objects out there behaving in mysterious ways that astronomers are still trying to figure out. A brand new set of words and language has to be invented every time something is discovered and that is part of what makes the study of space so interesting. There’s so much out there that is waiting to be found.
The use of mythological and ancient names to name all the objects that are in space has also always given astronomy an air of mystery and wonder that attracts all kinds of people and incentivizes them to look at the sky every night.
There are so many space-related words and terms that it is hard to keep up.
This is why below, we have compiled a list of space words that start with K so you can learn more about the study of the universe. These are words that are related to astronomy and space, if what you are looking for is specifically for name ideas or the names of objects, check out our lists of star names, planets, or constellations. You will also find those sorted by letter.
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| K-corona | Outer layer of the Sun’s atmosphere |
| KBO (Kuiper Belt Object) | Objects within the Kuiper Belt |
| KELT | Kilodegree Extremely Little Telescope |
| Kachina Chasma | A chasma (canyon) on the moon Charon, Pluto’s moon |
| Kalliope | Large asteroid in the main asteroid belt |
| Kapteyn’s Star | Nearby red dwarf star |
| Karman Line | Altitude at which Earth’s atmosphere meets space |
| Kauffman’s Galaxy | A dwarf galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major |
| Keck Observatory | Giant telescopes on Mauna Kea, Hawaii |
| Keeler Gap | Gap in Saturn’s rings, cleared by moon Daphnis |
| Keenan System | Stellar classification system |
| Kelvin | Temperature scale, absolute zero at 0 K |
| Kelvin Waves | Equatorial waves in Earth’s atmosphere |
| Kemble’s Cascade | Asterism of stars in the constellation Camelopardalis |
| Kepler Mission | NASA mission to find Earth-like exoplanets |
| Kepler Telescope | Space telescope for exoplanet discovery |
| Kepler’s Laws | Three laws describing planetary motion |
| Kepler-22b | Exoplanet orbiting in the habitable zone of its star system |
| Keyhole Nebula | Nebula in Carina constellation |
| Kilonovae | Explosive events resulting from neutron star mergers |
| Kiloparsec | Unit of distance, about 3,262 light-years |
| King’s Trough | Region on Pluto’s surface |
| Kirchhoff’s Laws | Principles of spectroscopy |
| Kitty Nebula | A planetary nebula in the constellation Draco |
| Klein-Gordon Equation | Equation describing scalar fields in physics |
| Kleinmann-Low Nebula | Dense region of star formation in the Milky Way |
| Klemola Object | Disputed object between asteroid and comet |
| Klemperer Rosette | An astrophysical phenomenon related to star formation |
| Kohoutek Comet | Bright comet visible in 1973 |
| Kozai Mechanism | Perturbation of an orbit by a third body |
| Kozai-Lidov Mechanism | Orbital perturbation mechanism |
| Kronian | Adjective referring to things related to Saturn |
| Kuiper Belt | Region beyond Neptune with icy bodies |
Find more space words that start with other letters: