What Is The Difference Between Star and Planet, Important Factors
Difference Between Star and Planet : Stars and planets are major constituents of our solar system. Every night, we see millions of twinkling lights in the sky, which we know are stars and planets. In this article We told about Difference Between Star and Planet
Shrivastav 4 Jan, 2024
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Difference Between Star and Planet : The major difference between stars and planets is that stars have their light, and planets reflect the light from stars. They do not have their light. However, there are some more important differences between Stars and planets. Read this article to know the major difference between stars and planets in our solar system.
What is a Star?
A star is a celestial body with its own light and energy. Stars are composed of helium and hydrogen, emitting enormous amounts of energy through light and heat. The light and heat emitted from the stars are due to the nuclear fusion reaction taking place inside them. It is a giant gas ball responsible for manufacturing heavy elements like oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, etc. Many stars are present in the universe, and each has a life span of more than a billion years. Stars are made of the dust and gases present in the universe.What is a Planet?
Planets are celestial bodies that do not have lights of their own. They reflect the light from a star. It is composed of solids, liquids and gases or their combination. They orbit around the sun in the universe. In our solar system, there are eight major planets. Our earth is the only planet that supports life. Planets do not twinkle like stars. They spin on their own axis and frequently change their positions. The planets have sufficient mass to maintain their own self-gravity and overcome the rigid forces to maintain a round shape. There are two major types of planets. The first one is terrestrial, consisting of rocky, dense, solid surfaces. Four terrestrial planets are out of the eight planets in our solar system. Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars are terrestrial planets in our solar system. The second type of planet is a gas giant. They are composed of gases like helium and hydrogen. They do not have a thick atmosphere or a solid surface. The two gas giants in our solar system are Jupiter and Saturn.Important Difference Between Star and Planet
Important Difference Between Star and Planet : Some of the key differences between stars and planets are given below.- Stars release their own light due to the nuclear fusion inside their core. However, planets do not have light of their own.
- Stars do not follow any specific path. However, planets revolve around the stars in an elliptical orbit.
- The temperature and pressure of a star are comparatively much higher than those of the planets.
- Stars are uncountable. However, in our solar system, there is only one star, which is the sun.
- Stars often appear to be twinkling in the night which is due to the total internal refraction of light in the earth's atmosphere. Stars are comparatively farther than planets and hence they twinkle as they need to travel a longer distance to reach earth.
Difference Between Star and Planet
Difference Between Star and Planet : Stars and planets are major components of our solar system. However, there are some major differences among them, which we must know. Read the table below to know the important difference between stars and planets .| Difference between Star and Planet | |
| Star | Planet |
| Stars are big celestial objects in our solar system, which are made of gases like helium, hydrogen, etc. | Planets are celestial objects of our solar system, which consist of solids, liquids and gases. |
| They are luminous objects and have light of their own. | Planets do not have lights of their own. They reflect light from the stars. |
| Stars are bigger in size than planets. The Sun is a star bigger than all the planets in our solar system. | Planets are smaller than stars. |
| Stars are huge balls of gases with high temperatures. | Planets generally have lower temperatures as compared to stars. |
| Stars twinkle at night. | Planets do not twinkle at night. |
| Stars also shift their position. However, due to their large size, it becomes visible after a while. | They regularly change their positions. |
| Stars have a sparkling effect. | Planets do not have any sparkling effect. |
| Stars do not orbit any planet or other object. | Planets of our solar system orbit stars. They orbit around the sun. |
| They are dot-shaped. | Planets are round in shape. |
| Stars move in their own orbit. | Planets revolve around the sun. This path is called an orbit which is elliptical. |
Difference Between Star And Planet FAQs
Q1. What is a star?
Ans: A star is a celestial body with its own light and energy. Stars are composed of helium and hydrogen, emitting enormous amounts of energy through light and heat.
Q2. What is a planet?
Ans: Planets are celestial bodies that do not have lights of their own. They reflect the light from a star. It is composed of solids, liquids and gases or their combination.
Q3. What is the major difference between a star and a planet?
Ans: Stars have their own light, while planets do not have their own light. They reflect the light from the stars. Read the complete article to know more major differences between stars and planets.
Q4. Do planets also twinkle at night?
Ans: No, planets do not twinkle as they are comparatively closer to the Earth's atmosphere. Stars are at a larger distance from the earth's atmosphere and as a result, suffer more internal refraction which makes it twinkle at night.
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