What Makes a ‘Planet’ Different from a ‘Star’?

Imagine you're playing with two kinds of toys: one that glows and shines by itself, and another that shines only when it's near the glowing toy.

Planets are like the second kind of toy, they shine because they’re close to a star, which is like the first toy that glows all by itself. A star is like a giant fireball in space, burning brightly because it makes its own light. It’s so big and hot that it can even burn through millions of years.

A planet doesn’t make its own light, it just reflects the light from the star it orbits. Think of it like a ball that shines only when you shine a flashlight on it. Earth is one such planet, and we see it glowing because the Sun, our star, shines on it.

A star is much bigger and hotter than a planet, and it keeps burning for billions of years. A planet is smaller and cooler, and it just moves around the star like Earth goes around the Sun. So if you want to know what makes a planet different from a star, think about which one is the glowing toy, and which one needs the light from that toy to shine.