The elements that make up stars, mostly hydrogen and helium, are also found on planets.
Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus’s atmospheres, for example, are also mostly hydrogen and helium.
Earth’s matter is mostly carbon-based, and carbon is found in stars, particularly old-age white dwarfs.
Stars, however, grow big enough to spark nuclear fusion and planets don’t.
Consequently, planets do not shine with their own light, but reflect the light of a local star, and are cooler than stars.
Planets “wander” across the sky, meaning that while stars are steadfast in relation to each other, planets appear to travel through the constellations.
Planets are less massive and therefore less dense than stars.
Orbiting asteroids meet some of the criteria for planets, which is why they are sometimes called minor planets.
Related Posts
-
What Are the Characteristics of the Inner Planets In Our Solar System and How Are the Inner Planets Similar?
In comparison to the outer planets, the four planets nearest the Sun are remarkably similar. The inner planets are all basically made of dense rock; they are all relatively small; and they are…
-
What Are the Outer Planets, What Are The Names of the Outer Planets, and Where Are the Outer Planets Located?
The planets that orbit the Sun beyond the asteroid belt in our solar system are known as the outer planets. Besides their location, they share many other similarities, except for Pluto, which is…
-
Why Do Stars Twinkle and What Causes Stars and Planets To Twinkle At Night?
Stars and to a lesser extent planets twinkle simply because we are seeing them through the many layers of the atmosphere of the earth. These layers of different densities move around, bending or…
-
How Are Stars Born, How Are New Stars Formed From Clouds of Dust and Gases, and How Do We Detect New Stars?
Space is full of clouds of dust and gases, known as nebulae. The dust and gases in nebulae have a certain mass, and we know, from Newton's law of gravity, that any object…
-
Why Does the Moon Always Show the Same Face To the Earth and Are Moons of Other Planets Similar?
Many researchers think the phenomenon of the moon showing the same face, called gravitational phase locking, occurs because of the uneven distribution of matter in the bodies involved. Normally, when two bodies join…
-
How Is Earth Different From Other Planets In the Solar System and How Is Earth Similar To Venus?
We are all well acquainted with Earth, but try to think about Earth in the same way you think about the other planets. Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and it…
