Question.
How does a planet differ from a star?
( Chapter 1: The Earth in the Solar System, Class 6- The Earth: Our Habitat ( GEOGRAPHY), SOCIAL SCIENCE)
Answer.
Planets and stars are two fundamentally different celestial bodies in our universe. The following are ways a planet differs from a star:
Formation:
Stars: Stars form from the gravitational collapse of gas and dust in interstellar clouds. The immense pressure and temperature at their cores enable nuclear fusion, primarily changing hydrogen into helium, which produces energy and makes stars shine.
Planets: Planets form from the leftover material surrounding a young star, known as a protoplanetary disk. Planets do not undergo nuclear fusion like stars, which is why they do not emit their own light.
Composition:
Stars: Stars are mainly composed of hot, glowing gases, primarily hydrogen, and helium.
Planets: Planets are comprised of solid or rocky surfaces (like terrestrial planets - Earth, Mercury, Venus, and Mars) or gas and ice (like gas giants planets - Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto).
Energy Source:
Stars shine due to ongoing nuclear fusion reactions in their cores, producing light and heat whereas planets do not have internal nuclear fusion, they shine by the light of stars (like our Sun) and emit some heat due to residual energy from their formation.
Size:
Stars are typically much larger than planets.
Shine:
Stars shine brightly and are visible from vast distances, including beyond our solar system whereas planets do not produce their own light but reflect the light of their parent star, they are visible mainly within our solar system.
Motion:
The planet revolves around the star whereas the star revolves around the galaxy.
Life support:
The planet ( like Earth) may have life or a life-supporting environment whereas the star does not have life.
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