Question: what is the difference between a star and a planet?

Adam Tuff answered on 15 Mar 2011:

A good question! A star is a ball of gas that has nuclear reactions occuring at the centre of it, which creates heat and light. A planet is a smaller object that orbit the stars. These can be “terrestrial” planets, like our own that are made of rock, or “Jovian” planets, that are big, gas planets. If Jupiter was about 10 times bigger, it would probably be big enough to start these reactions and become a sun.