Solution: Stargazing
Answer: NEBULA
Written by The Enigmatologists
Arrange the words within each constellation based on word length and number of points on each star. Write each word around each star, starting at the gap in the star and going clockwise. The letters from connected points should match, and they give you one final clue: "cosmic dust cloud", or, NEBULA.
Constellation 1
| Clue | Solution |
|---|---|
| Essence, or Emu in the Sky to Aboriginal Australian stargazers | Crux |
| Arugula, in Manchester | Rocket |
| Named after the first astronomer at the University of Waterloo, this observatory sits on top of the Physics building | Bakos |
| "Uptown Funk" singer Bruno | Mars |
| "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for [blank]" | Mankind |
| "Star Trek" genre | Scifi |
| Tropic of [blank], or Scarab to Egyptian stargazers | Cancer |
Constellation 2
| Clue | Solution |
|---|---|
| Harry Potter's childhood arch-enemy, or Mother Camels to Arabic stargazers | Draco |
| Liquid or gas | Fluid |
| There isn't one of these in the plum pudding model | Nucleus |
| Astronomical belt, but not one worn by Orion | Asteroid |
| Revolution about a star | Orbit |
Constellation 3
| Clue | Solution |
|---|---|
| Impact site, or Vermilion Bird to Chinese stargazers | Crater |
| First photographed in 2019, in collaboration with UW professor Avery Broderick | Black hole |
| It's still a planet in our hearts | Pluto |
| Moon of Saturn discovered by German composer Herschel | Enceladus |
| Our prosthetic limb for the ISS | Canadarm |
Authors' Notes
This puzzle started from my love of writing crossword puzzles. There are many ways to incorporate crossword-style clues into a puzzle-hunt-style puzzle, but I hoped this one would be fun and somewhat unique. I was originally going to use flower petals, but the preexisting structure of constellations was too appealing (plus as a former physics student I had to take the opportunity to talk about space/mention the Gustav Bakos observatory).
This puzzle is a testament to the benefit of having people in your life who also love puzzles (or at least are willing to listen to you ramble about them). Special thanks to my dad and my partner for all their brainstorming efforts (in addition to the rest of the wonderful team of enigmatologists).
This (unfortunately) doesn't play into the puzzle, but for anyone curious, the constellations/asterisms depicted are the Big Dipper, Cassiopeia, and Corona Australis.