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What is the Difference between a Planet and a Star?
Daily night we see stars in the sky. In the solar system along with the earth there are some other planets. Have you ever wondered what the difference between a star and planet really is? The basic difference between a star and a planet is that a star emits light produced by a nuclear reaction in its core, whereas a planet only shines by reflected light.
A star is a mass of gas held together and given its shape by its own gravity. Gravity is constantly squeezing the star, trying to make it collapse. This collapse is prevented by the radiant pressure from the hot gas in the star’s interior. This is called hydrostatic support, or equilibrium. All the stars are made up of hydrogen and helium, with trace amounts of other elements. Planets are very smaller than stars and all the planets revolve round the sun.
