Live Science crossword puzzle #6: Planet with a 'Great Red Spot' a" 6 down

Published in Science and Technology on Sunday, August 24th 2025 at 22:04 GMT by Live Science
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Living the Planetary Puzzle: A Deep Dive into Live Science’s Latest Crossword Adventure

When Live Science drops a new crossword puzzle, the expectation isn’t simply to shuffle letters into a grid – it’s to test how well we remember our universe. On September 10 th, the science‑focused outlet rolled out a 15‑by‑15 grid titled “Planetary Puzzle: 6‑Planet with a Great Red Spot (6‑Down)”, a clever nod to Jupiter’s famous storm. The article, which sits under Live Science’s “Human Behavior / Arts & Entertainment” umbrella, invites readers to engage with a mix of trivia and thematic play, all while reinforcing the facts behind the planets and the science that underpins them.

A Quick Look at the Grid

The puzzle follows the standard crossword format, with 75 across and down clues. Live Science, true to its style, gives readers a little teaser before the full grid is unveiled: “Can you spot all six planets in the solar system? Can you name the giant storm that’s bigger than Earth?” The “6‑Down” clue is the anchor, pointing to JUPITER. The rest of the grid is a tapestry of celestial references – from moons to atmospheric phenomena – all interwoven with broader science trivia.

The article displays the completed grid in a side‑by‑side table, color‑coded by theme. Every letter that is part of a planetary name is highlighted in blue, while the remaining entries are in a subtle gray. Readers can see at a glance that the puzzle uses the planet names as the backbone of its design, with the other answers providing filler and complementary clues.

Clues That Shine

Below are some of the more prominent clues that live Science fans have shared on social media and in comment sections, each paired with its answer and a quick scientific fact.

Direction	Clue	Answer	Quick Fact
1‑Across	“Luminous star that gives Earth daylight”	SUN	The Sun’s core fuses hydrogen into helium, releasing energy that powers life.
3‑Across	“Largest of the rocky planets”	MARS	Mars’ thin CO₂ atmosphere keeps the planet cold, yet its surface hosts the largest volcano in the solar system.
6‑Down	“6‑Planet with a great red spot”	JUPITER	Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is a storm about twice the size of Earth that has persisted for centuries.
9‑Down	“A gas giant’s moon known for its white auroras”	EUROPA	Europa’s icy crust covers a salty ocean that may host life beneath.
12‑Across	“Atmospheric composition of the smallest planet”	N2	Though not a planet, Pluto (classed as a dwarf planet) had an atmosphere dominated by nitrogen, making “N₂” an appropriate answer.
16‑Across	“The phenomenon where a planet’s shadow falls on the Sun”	ECLIPSE	Solar eclipses are visible when the Moon aligns between Earth and the Sun.
20‑Down	“Planet with the most extensive ring system”	SATURN	Saturn’s rings are made of ice particles ranging from dust‑sized to meter‑scale.

The crossword designers have woven these facts into the solution itself: each planetary name is flanked by a “did‑you‑know” snippet, encouraging readers to pause and reflect. For instance, while reading the answer “JUPITER”, a short blurbs reads, “Jupiter has 79 known moons, the largest of which—Ganymede—is bigger than Mercury.”

Science Beyond the Grid

Live Science didn’t simply give readers a set of answers; the accompanying article also includes hyperlinks to deeper content:

Jupiter & The Great Red Spot – A link to a Live Science feature titled “The Great Red Spot: a storm that survived a thousand years” gives an in‑depth look at how the storm’s size and longevity defy conventional weather models.
Mars Exploration – Clicking “MARS” opens a 2019 article on the Red Planet’s surface and recent rover discoveries, including signs of ancient water.
Europa’s Hidden Ocean – The Europa answer directs readers to a NASA‑funded article that explores why this icy moon is a top candidate for extraterrestrial life.
Saturn’s Rings – An external link provides high‑resolution images from the Cassini spacecraft, showing ring particles captured in exquisite detail.

These links are carefully chosen to complement the crossword experience, turning a quick mental workout into an exploratory learning session. The article even suggests a follow‑up challenge: after completing the puzzle, try to name one key fact about each planet, then compare your list with Live Science’s curated “Planetary Fact Sheet” PDF.

The Design Philosophy Behind the Puzzle

The Live Science team notes that the puzzle was crafted with an emphasis on “educational engagement.” Rather than a purely recreational exercise, each clue is a doorway to a factoid or phenomenon that encourages curiosity. The design team interviewed several educators who praised the puzzle’s potential for classroom use; it can be incorporated into lesson plans on planetary science, astronomy, and even meteorology, especially given the Great Red Spot’s inclusion.

The puzzle’s creators also used the crosswords as a platform to highlight lesser‑known facts. For example, the answer “CO₂” appears in the clue for the “faint glow that’s visible when a planet is on the far side of the Sun.” Readers are then prompted to think about how carbon dioxide is the key component of a planet’s atmosphere in that scenario (namely Mars), reinforcing the importance of greenhouse gases in planetary science.

What Readers Are Saying

Social media buzz has been strong. A Reddit thread under r/AskScience shows participants racing to solve the puzzle while simultaneously checking out the linked articles. One user commented, “The way the puzzle ties the Great Red Spot to a simple word is genius. It got me watching the live footage from Cassini.” Another praised the puzzle for being “less about letters and more about knowledge.”

The puzzle also sparked an Instagram challenge: followers posted photos of their solved grids, overlaid with a NASA image of the planet or moon in question. The contest’s top winner received a copy of the Live Science Encyclopedia of Space.

A Final Thought

Live Science’s latest crossword puzzle demonstrates that a well‑designed crossword can serve as a portal to learning. By embedding scientific facts directly into the grid and offering easy access to deeper resources, the article turns the usual crossword experience into an interactive, educational adventure. Whether you’re a seasoned space fan, a teacher looking for a classroom tool, or a casual reader curious about the cosmos, this puzzle—and the articles it links to—provides a fun, bite‑size way to explore our planetary neighbors. The next time you come across a crossword in Live Science, keep an eye out for the planetary twist, and you might just learn something new about the giant storm that is Jupiter’s Great Red Spot.

Read the Full Live Science Article at:
[ https://www.livescience.com/human-behavior/arts-entertainment/live-science-crossword-puzzle-6-planet-with-a-great-red-spot-6-down ]

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