Stars Planets and their Difference

The night sky is a beautiful scene when you look out to the heavens. It is dotted with billions and billions of shiny dots, which we know as stars. Some of these dots are brighter than the other and also bigger. The positions of these stars also change throughout the year. What we don't realize is that some of these shiny dots in the night sky may also be planets.

Both stars and planets are celestial bodies found in outer space, so it is important to understand the key differences between them. Planets are simply celestial bodies that orbit on their axis, and they spin around their Sun (unless it is a rogue plant) while reflecting light from an external source. Solar or star radiation is the only light source for planets because they do not have internal sources. On the other hand, a star is a body that emits light on its own, causing the light to reflect and refract, which creates the twinkling effect.

What are stars?

You can think of stars as glowing balls of plasma that are held together by their gravity. Plasma is an extremely hot form of matter. Stars are composed of gases like hydrogen, helium, and other lighter elements.

Nuclear reactions in the core of the stars cause the stars to shine due to hydrogen undergoing fusion into helium. In the universe, the nuclear fusion reactions in stars result in them continuously emitting light. Therefore, it allows us to see them and observe them through a radio telescope.

Among the star's characteristics is that they twinkle since the light from the star passes through the atmosphere of the Earth, and as a result of atmospheric refraction, it appears to twinkle. Sitting at a distance of 150 million km from the Earth, the Sun is the closest star. Astronomers measure the distance between stars in light-years, i.e., the distance light travels each year.

What are planets?

Planets are heavenly bodies that orbit a star in a precise path, i.e., the orbit of the Sun. There is enough gravity in a planet to make it resemble a sphere, yet not so much as to cause a nuclear reaction. Besides this, other bodies have been cleared in its neighboring areas. In our solar system, planets are divided into two groups: Inner planets and Outer planets.

• Inner Planets. Inner planets are planets whose orbits do not extend beyond the asteroid belt. The composition of these planets consists of small, solid elements, such as rocks or metals. The planets Mercury, Venus, and Earth, are among them.
• Outer Planets. An outer planet is one whose orbit lies outside of the asteroid belt. In comparison with inner planets, they are larger and usually have a ring system surrounding them. Their composition consists of gases like hydrogen, helium, and so on. Neptune, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Pluto are included in outer planets.

What are planets?