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 N 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 |
|---|---|
| NASA | National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the U.S. government agency responsible for space exploration. |
| NGC (New General Catalog) | A catalog of deep-sky objects such as galaxies, nebulae, and star clusters. |
| Nadir | The point directly below an observer in the sky. |
| Naiad | A small moon of Neptune, discovered in 1989. |
| Namaka | A moon of the dwarf planet Haumea, located in the Kuiper Belt. |
| Nanosatellite | A small satellite with a mass in the range of 1-10 kilograms. |
| Nautilus | A faint constellation in the southern sky, representing a nautilus shell. |
| Nazca Subplate | A tectonic feature on Venus, similar to a tectonic plate on Earth. |
| Neap Tide | A tide that occurs when the Sun, Moon, and Earth form a right angle, resulting in less extreme tidal variations. |
| Nebula | A cloud of gas and dust in space, often the birthplace of stars. |
| Nebular Hypothesis | The theory that the solar system formed from a rotating cloud of gas and dust. |
| Neptune | The eighth and farthest known planet from the Sun in our solar system. |
| Nereid | One of Neptune’s moons, known for its irregular shape. |
| Nereus | An Earth-crossing asteroid and potentially hazardous object. |
| Neso | A distant moon of Neptune, discovered in 2002. |
| Nessus | A centaur, a type of celestial object orbiting between Jupiter and Neptune. |
| Neutrino | A subatomic particle with very little mass and no electric charge, produced in nuclear reactions. |
| Neutron Star | A highly dense remnant of a massive star after a supernova explosion. |
| New Moon | The moon’s phase when it is not visible from Earth. |
| Newton’s Laws of Motion | Three fundamental laws that describe the relationship between the motion of objects and the forces acting on them. |
| Norma | A constellation in the southern hemisphere. |
| North Star | Also known as Polaris, it’s the brightest star in the Ursa Minor constellation and serves as a navigational reference. |
| Nova | A sudden increase in brightness of a star, often due to a thermonuclear explosion on its surface. |
| Nuclear Fusion | The process in which atomic nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus, releasing energy in the process. |
| Nunki | The second brightest star in the Sagittarius constellation. |
| Nutational Motion | The movement of the Earth’s axis caused by gravitational interactions with other bodies. |
| Nymphs | A group of asteroids located in the outer region of the asteroid belt. |
| Nyquist Theorem | In astronomy, the principle that states that in order to accurately sample and measure a signal, the sampling rate must be at least twice the highest frequency present in the signal. |
| Nysa | One of the largest asteroids in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter. |
| Nyx | A moon of Pluto, discovered in 2005. |
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