What Is the Difference Between ‘Stars’ and ‘Planets’?

Stars are like big, bright balls of fire that shine in the sky because they make their own light. Planets, on the other hand, don’t make their own light, they just reflect the light from stars. Think of it like a flashlight (a star) and a ball (a planet) shining next to each other.

What Stars Do

Stars are made mostly of hydrogen and helium, and they shine because they burn these gases in a process called fusion. This is what gives them their energy and makes them light up the night sky.

What Planets Do

Planets are usually smaller than stars. They go around stars like Earth goes around the Sun. They can have moons, like how our Moon orbits Earth.

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Examples

Stars shine bright because they make their own light, like a flashlight, while planets are more like balls that reflect the flashlight’s light.
The Sun is a star; Earth is a planet, and it reflects the light from the Sun, making us see it in the sky.
Stars burn for millions of years, but planets don’t burn, just like how you can’t make your room light up by holding a ball.

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Categories: Space · stars,planets,space science