Spanish Vocabulary - El universo y el espacio exterior
el planeta = planet
planetario/a = planetary
la esfera = sphere, globe
el globo = globe [also “balloon”, or el globo ocular is “eyeball”]
global = global
la atmósfera = atmosphere [in non-space terms it can mean “mood” or “ambiance”]
el extranjero = abroad / foreign
los extranjeros = foreigners
el viajero, la viajera = traveler
la órbita = orbit / sphere of influence
en órbita = in orbit
el cielo = sky
celestial = celestial / sky-related
celeste = sky-related (less common) / light blue
el sol = sun
solar = solar
el astro rey = sun [used very rarely, it’s more poetic but it’s like the central point of something that has orbit… for almost every occasion you’d use el sol]
la luna = moon
lunar = lunar [in other terms, el lunar can be “beauty mark”… or ropa a lunares means “polka dots”]
el sistema solar = solar system
el astro = star / heavenly body, celestial body
los astros = the stars [more dramatic than the literal estrellas; think “the heavens”]
el cuerpo celestial = heavenly body, celestial body
el/la astronauta = astronaut
el/la cosmonauta = cosmonaut [I think this only applies to Soviet Union things?]
el astrónomo, la astrónoma = astronomer
la astronomía = astronomy
el cohete = rocket
[can be used for space, fireworks, weaponry… like el lanzacohetes is “rocketlauncher” (or you just say el RPG which sounds like el erepejé)... so that’s fun]
el cohete (espacial) = rocketship
la sonda = probe (in medicine it could be “gauge” or “catheter”)
la sonda (espacial) = (space) probe
la nave = ship
la nave espacial = spaceship
la Tierra = Earth
la tierra = soil, ground, earth
extraterrestre = extraterrestrial
humano/a = human
(there are a lot of words thrown around to mean “earthling” including terrícola and terrano/a but they’re all built around the root word tierra)
alienígena = alien
[I don’t see this word too often outside of sci-fi, but alienígena is used for “alien” or “foreign” in a very formal way… it would be further away from our own solar system, not something like marciano/a meaning “Martian”, but it’s a very sci-fi word when the aliens come from somewhere else entirely.]
el OVNI [el objeto volador no identificado] = UFO [unidentified flying object]
*Note: All of the planets in the solar system are technically masculine aside from Earth. You don’t add the definite article to most of them (except Earth), but it’s assumed that these masculine planets take masculine adjectives when necessary. Otherwise it ends up looking like… Marte es un planeta rojo “Mars is a red planet” or something like that.
el universo = universe
universal = universal
el mundo = world
mundial = worldly / related to the world
el espacio = space
el espacio exterior = outer space
espacial = space / spatial [adjective; as in la nave espacial is “spaceship”]
la galaxia = galaxy
galáctico/a = galactic
el año luz = light year
los años luz = light years
MRL (más rápido que la luz) = FTL (faster-than-light)
superlumínico/a = faster-than-light / superluminal
el cúmulo = cluster / bunch
el cometa = comet
(la cometa, feminine, is another word for a “kite”)
el asteroide = asteroid
el cinturón de asteroides = asteroid belt
la lluvia de estrellas = meteor shower
la estrella fugaz = shooting star [lit. “short-lived star”]
la (estrella) gigante = giant (star)
la (estrella) enana = dwarf (star)
[with this, combined with colors you’d get… la gigante roja “red giant”, or la enana marrón “brown dwarf” etc]
el agujero negro = black hole [sometimes you see hoyo negro but that’s less common; el agujero and el hoyo are both “hole” though]
la Vía Láctea = the Milky Way
