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The universe is made up of a large amount of empty space and elements made of matter, and of the latter, stars are one of the most abundant. These stars usually have planets around them, which, in turn, have natural satellites that orbit them. However, do you know what the difference between planet, star and natural satellite? If you want to know the answer and go a little deeper into the subject, keep reading Green Ecology and we will tell you about it.
What is a solar system and how is it formed
The first thing to keep in mind is that the bodies found in space can be very varied. Asteroids, comets, black holes, etc. can be found. One of these bodies, and which is especially abundant, are the nebulae, which could be defined as immense clouds of space dust that tend to group together due to the effect of gravity.
When these nebulae are concentrated, in processes that last billions of years, end up forming bodies much denser than, due to their high content of hydrogen and helium (two highly flammable elements of the universe) they end up forming the stars. However, stars form long before they have completely absorbed the space dust that makes up nebulae, and in fact a considerable amount of this space dust will not become part of stars, but will instead be concentrated in bodies. dense that, due to the effect of gravity, will form in orbit around the star. They are the planets and, in the same way that these bodies are formed by orbiting around the star, the planets can have their own celestial bodies orbiting around them, which are natural satellites.
These structures, formed by stars, planets and natural satellites, as well as the invisible orbits that some describe in relation to others, are what are called solar systems. These solar systems are in turn grouped into groups of solar systems (or solitary stars), and form galaxies, which are the largest structures that can be seen in the universe (at least, that have been discovered until today, and which in turn are grouped into clusters of galaxies).
How a star, planet, and satellite are different
A star is a mass of incandescent gaseous matter floating in space. The closest star to us is the Sun, but any star that can be observed in the universe has the same characteristics. In fact, as they are celestial bodies that are in a plasma state, they always emit light. So they are often described as celestial bodies that emit light.
On the contrary, planets would be celestial bodies that do not emit light. However, in this case, in addition to not emitting light, they must also fulfill another important aspect, which is orbit a star. Thus, for a planet to be considered as such, it must necessarily depend on a star. In this way, asteroids, comets or natural satellites, since, although they are celestial bodies that do not emit light, do not have orbits related to a star.
What is a satellite
What defines a satellite is that it is a celestial body that establishes its orbit around a planet And what makes them natural is that they have arisen through the normal evolution of the universe, while the artificial ones are those that have been put into orbit by the hand of man. This does not make them stop being as satellites as the Moon can be, but it does mean that they are simply artificial satellites.
Natural satellites can be considered to have a relationship with their respective planet similar to that which the planet has with the star. However the satellite has a double dependencyas it does first on the planet and in consequence, also from the star around which the planet orbits, while the planet only depends on the star.
Another important aspect to take into account with respect to satellites is that, normally, they are created during the same process in which the formation of the solar system in question takes place. However, there may also be cases where they are the result of some kind of space catastrophe. A good example of this is our own Moon that, according to the most modern theories, arose when it detached from the Earth itself as a result of the impact of a tremendous asteroid, which launched this body of solid matter into space, where it ended up orbiting around its own planet of origin, giving rise to the natural satellite that it constitutes today.
If you want to read more articles similar to Difference between planet, star and natural satellite, we recommend that you enter our category of Curiosities of the Earth and the universe.
