English to French Planet Names and Space Words
If you are interested in all things space and how to speak about them in French, then this is the page for you. Below you will find the English to French translations for a whole slew of space-related words like planets, stars, astronomy topics, and so much more.
By scrolling below you will find a long list of general space terms in French, followed by translations for all the planets in our solar system, then a list of star types. Below that, you'll find a list for other named space objects, followed by a list of translated space agency names.
To view a certain grouping of words, feel free to use the quick links below to jump straight to a particular list. Otherwise, if you want to read the list in its entirety, then you can also just scroll down and see what words are there to learn.
Planets and Space Vocabulary from English to French:
Words in bold added during the last update. You can also view this list of planets and space words from French to English.
Quick links:
General Space Words from English to French
English to French Names for Planets in Our Solar System
Types of Stars Translated from English to French
Other Named Space Objects Translated from English to French
English to French Names for Various Space Agencies
General Space Words from English to French
Here is a long list of general space words translated from English to French in alphabetical order. Lists for more specific space objects like the planets are in their own list below this one.
Amateur astronomy ➔ Astronomie amateur
Artificial satellite ➔ Satellite artificiel
Asteroid ➔ Astéroïde
Astronaut ➔ Astronaute
Astronomer ➔ Astronome
Astronomical telescope ➔ Lunette astronomique
Astronomical unit (au) ➔ Unité astronomique (ua)
Astronomy ➔ Astronomie
Black hole ➔ Trou noir
Blue moon ➔ Lune bleue
Comet ➔ Comète
Constellation ➔ Constellation
Coronal mass ejection ➔ Éjection de masse coronale
Cosmic rays ➔ Rayons cosmiques
Cosmonaut ➔ Cosmonaute
Dark matter ➔ Matière noire
Drake Equation (formula for estimating potential number of extraterrestrial civilizations) ➔ Équation de Drake
Dwarf planet ➔ Planète naine
Dyson Sphere (theoretical structure that might denote extraterrestrial life) ➔ Sphère de Dyson
Earth-like planet ➔ Planète tellurique
Eclipse ➔ Éclipse
Elliptical galaxy ➔ Galaxie elliptique
Exoplanet (planet outside our solar system) ➔ Exoplanète
Extraterrestrial life ➔ Vie extraterrestre
Fermi Paradox (questions about the possibility of extraterrestrial life) ➔ Paradoxe de Fermi
Full moon ➔ Pleine lune
Galaxy ➔ Galaxie
Gas giants (planets) ➔ Géantes gazeuses (ex. Jupiter and Saturn)
Giant planet ➔ Planète géante (ex. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune)
Globular cluster ➔ Amas globulaire
Ice giants (planets) ➔ Géantes de glaces (ex. Uranus and Neptune)
Impactor (space probe for impacting a celestial body) ➔ Impacteur
Inner planets ➔ Planètes internes (Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars)
Interstellar travel ➔ Voyage interstellaire
Irregular galaxy ➔ Galaxie irrégulière
Lander (for landing on a surface in space) ➔ Atterrisseur
Light year ➔ Année-lumière
Lunar eclipse ➔ Éclipse lunaire
Man in the Moon ➔ Homme dans la Lune
Men are from Mars, women are from Venus (book) ➔ Les hommes viennent de Mars, les femmes viennent de Vénus
Meteor ➔ Météore
Meteor shower ➔ Pluie de météores
Meteorite ➔ Météorite
Meteoroid ➔ Météoroïde
Minor planet ➔ Planète mineure
Natural satellite (moon) ➔ Satellite naturel
Near-Earth Object (NEO) ➔ Objet géocroiseur
Nebula ➔ Nébuleuse
New moon ➔ Nouvelle lune
Northern lights (aurora borealis) ➔ Aurore boréale
Nova ➔ Nova
Orbit ➔ Orbite
Orbiter (for studying celestial bodies while in orbit) ➔ Orbiteur
Outer planets ➔ Planètes externes (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune)
Planet ➔ Planète
Planetarium ➔ Planétarium
Planetary ring ➔ Anneau planétaire
Planetoid ➔ Planétoïde
Radio astronomy ➔ Radioastronomie
Radio telescope ➔ Radiotélescope
Rocket (ship) ➔ Fusée
Rover (for exploring planets or other surfaces in space) ➔ Astromobile
Solar eclipse ➔ Éclipse solaire
Solar flare ➔ Éruption solaire
Solar system ➔ Système solaire
Southern lights (aurora australis) ➔ Aurore australe
Space ➔ Espace
Space debris ➔ Débris spatial
Space exploration ➔ Exploration spatiale
Space flight ➔ Vol spatial
Space probe ➔ Sonde spatiale
Space program ➔ Programme spatial
Space shuttle ➔ Navette spatiale
Space station ➔ Station spatiale
Space telescope ➔ Télescope spatial
Space tourism ➔ Tourisme spatial
Spacecraft ➔ Vaisseau spatial (used more for imaginary spacecraft, like in science fiction)
Spacecraft ➔ Véhicule spatial (used more for real spacecraft)
Spiral galaxy ➔ Galaxie spirale
Sunspot ➔ Tache solaire
Supermassive black hole ➔ Trou noir supermassif
Supernova ➔ Supernova
Syzygy (alignment of three or more celestial bodies) ➔ Syzygie
Telescope ➔ Télescope
Unidentified flying object (UFO) ➔ Objet volant non identifié
Universe ➔ Univers
Wormhole ➔ Trou de ver
English to French Names for Planets in Our Solar System
Here are the French translations for the planets in our solar system (ordered from their distance from the Sun), plus other key objects like the sun and our moon. It also includes various dwarf planets.
The Sun ➔ Le Soleil
The Moon ➔ La Lune
Mercury ➔ Mercure
Venus ➔ Vénus
Earth ➔ Terre
Mars ➔ Mars
Ceres (dwarf planet in the asteroid belt) ➔ Cérès
Jupiter ➔ Jupiter
Saturn ➔ Saturne
Uranus ➔ Uranus
Neptune ➔ Neptune
Pluto (dwarf planet) ➔ Pluton
Haumea (dwarf planet) ➔ Hauméa
Makemake (dwarf planet) ➔ Makémaké
Eris (dwarf planet) ➔ Éris
Planet X (theoretical planet, where 'X' represented the unknown, not the Roman numeral) ➔ Planète X
Types of Stars Translated from English to French
This list groups the translations for various types of stars. Includes a few that are more colloquial as well like shooting star.
Star ➔ Étoile
Binary star ➔ Étoile binaire
Neutron star ➔ Étoile à neutrons
Shooting star ➔ Étoile filante
Blue giant (star) ➔ Géante bleue
Blue supergiant (star) ➔ Supergéante bleue
Red dwarf (star) ➔ Naine rouge
Red giant (star) ➔ Géante rouge
Red supergiant (star) ➔ Supergéante rouge
White dwarf (star) ➔ Naine blanche
White supergiant (star) ➔ Supergéante blanche
Yellow dwarf (star) ➔ Naine jaune
Yellow hypergiant (star) ➔ Hypergéante jaune
Yellow supergiant (star) ➔ Supergéante jaune
Other Named Space Objects Translated from English to French
Beyond the main planets and such in our solar system, there are also a number of other named objects like constellations, galaxies, or even telescopes. Here's a list of more named space objects translated into French.
Andromeda Galaxy ➔ Galaxie d'Andromède
Asteroid Belt ➔ Ceinture d'astéroïdes
Barnard's Star ➔ Étoile de Barnard
Cassiopeia (constellation) ➔ Cassiopée
Dark side of the Moon (far side) ➔ Face cachée de la Lune
Galactic Center ➔ Centre galactique
Gemini (constellation) ➔ Gémeaux
Geminids (meteor shower) ➔ Géminides
Great Red Spot (on Jupiter) ➔ Grande Tache rouge
Halley's Comet ➔ Comète de Halley
Horsehead Nebula ➔ Nébuleuse de la Tête de Cheval
Hubble Space Telescope ➔ Télescope spatial Hubble
International Space Station (ISS) ➔ Station spatiale internationale (SSI)
James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) ➔ Télescope spatial James Webb (TSJW)
Kuiper Belt ➔ Ceinture de Kuiper
Leonids (meteor shower) ➔ Léonides
Milky Way (galaxy) ➔ Voie lactée
Near side of the Moon (visible side) ➔ Face visible de la Lune
Oort Cloud ➔ Nuage de Oort
Orion Nebula ➔ Nébuleuse d'Orion
Perseids (meteor shower) ➔ Perséides
Rings of Saturn ➔ Anneaux de Saturne
Sagittarius (constellation) ➔ Sagittaire
Southern Cross (constellation) ➔ Croix du Sud
The North Star ➔ Étoile Polaire
Transit of Mercury (Mercury crossing over the disc of the Sun) ➔ Transit de Mercure
Transit of Venus (Venus crossing over the disc of the Sun) ➔ Transit de Vénus
Ursa Major (constellation) ➔ La Grande Ourse (The Great Bear)
Ursa Minor (constellation) ➔ La Petite Ourse (The Little Bear)
Virgo (constellation) ➔ Vierge
English to French Names for Various Space Agencies
There are many space agencies in the world (space agency, by the way, is written agence spatiale in French), so here are a selection of those space agency names translated from English to French.
Australian Space Agency (ASA) ➔ Agence spatiale australienne
Canadian Space Agency (CSA) ➔ Agence spatiale canadienne
China National Space Administration (CNSA) ➔ Administration spatiale nationale chinoise
European Space Agency (ESA) ➔ Agence spatiale européenne
French Space Agency / National Centre for Space Studies ➔ Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES)
Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) ➔ Organisation indienne de recherche spatiale
Israeli Space Agency (ISA) ➔ Agence spatiale israélienne
Italian Space Agency ➔ Agence spatiale italienne
Japan Aerospace EXploration Agency (JAXA) ➔ Agence d'exploration aérospatiale japonaise
Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) ➔ Administration coréenne de l'aérospatiale
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) ➔ Administration nationale de l'aéronautique et de l'espace
United Arab Emirates Space Agency (UAESA) ➔ Agence spatiale émiratie
This list of English to French planets and space terms was first created on September 26, 2025.
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