Difference Between Stars and Planets

At night, when you look up high in the sky, you will notice trillions of shining dots, out of which some appear brighter, some are bigger while some of them twinkle. It is a point to ponder, what are these bright dots? So they are nothing but stars and planets. Stars are heavenly bodies that possess their own light and twinkle. They are fixed and large luminous body like the Sun.

On the flip side, planets are celestial objects, which have an apparent motion of their own and also moves around the star, in an elliptical orbit.

These two bodies might look alike, but as per science, there are huge differences between stars and planets, which we’ve simplified for you in this article in detail.

Content: Stars Vs Planets

1. Comparison Chart
2. Definition
3. Key Differences
4. Conclusion

Comparison Chart

Basis for Comparison	Stars	Planets
Meaning	Stars are the astronomical objects, that emit their own light, produced due to thermonuclear fusion, occurring at its core.	Planets refers to the celestial object that has a fixed path (orbit), in which it moves around the star.
Light	They have their own light.	They do not have their own light.
Position	Their position changes but due to substantial distance, it can be seen after a long time.	They change position.
Size	Big	Small
Shape	Dot shaped	Sphere-shaped
Temperature	High	Low
Number	There is only one star in the solar system.	There are eight planets in our solar system.
Twinkle	Stars twinkle.	Planets do not twinkle.
Matter	Hydrogen, Helium and other light elements.	Solid, liquid or gases, or a combination thereon.

Definition of Stars

Stars can be understood as the glowing ball, consisting of plasma, clasped together by its gravity. Plasma is an intensely-heated state of matter. Stars are made up of gasses like hydrogen, helium and similar other light elements.

The shine in the stars is due to the nuclear reaction that takes place in their core, as a result of the fusion of hydrogen into helium. The nuclear reaction occurring in the stars continuously emit energy in the form of light, in the universe, that helps us to see them and also observe them through a radio telescope.

One important characteristic of the star is that they twinkle because as the light of star falls on the earth it passes through earth’s atmosphere and as a result of atmospheric refraction, they seem to twinkle.

The Sun is the closest star to the planet Earth, which is nearly 150 million km away. The distance of stars is expressed in light-years, i.e. the distance traveled by light per year. It seems moving from east to west.

Definition of Planets

The term ‘planet’ represents the heavenly objects that revolve around a star, in a definite path, i.e. orbit. It is huge enough that is occupies shape of a sphere by its gravity, but not as large to effect nuclear reaction. In addition to this, it has cleared other bodies in its neighboring area. Planets of our solar system, are divided into two parts:

• Inner Planets: The planets whose orbit rests inside the asteroid belt is known as inner planets. These are small in size and consist of solid elements like rocks and metals. It includes Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.
• Outer Planets: Outer planets are the ones, whose orbit lies external to the asteroid belt. Their size is comparatively larger than inner planets and has a ring around them. They are made up of gasses like hydrogen, helium and so on. It encompasses, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.

Conclusion

Therefore, with the above discussion, you might have got the clear understanding on the differences between these two along with the reasons for differences. Whenever a new solar system is created, first of all, stars are formed, whereas planets are formed later on, within the orbit of the star.