Question

Differentiate between:
(a) a star and a planet
(b) a comet and an asteroid
(c) sunspots and prominences
(d) a meteor and a meteorite

Answer 1

(a) A star and a planet

Star	Planet
It has its own light.	It does not have its own light; it shines owing to the reflection of light from the sun.
It is a ball of gases.	It is a small, solid body.
There are billions of stars in the space.	There are only eight planets in the solar system.
Stars are very far from the earth.	The planets are closer than the stars.

(b) A comet and an asteroid

Asteroid	Comet
Asteroids are made up of metals and rocky material.	Comets are made up of ice, dust and rocky material.
Asteroids are formed much closer to the sun, where it is too warm for ice to remain solid.	Comets are formed farther from the sun where ice would not melt.
Asteroids tend to have shorter, more circular orbits, and they seem to want to group together in belts.	Comets tend to have very extended and elongated orbits.

(c) Sunspots and prominences

Sunspots	Prominences
Sunspots are small, dark patches on the sun.	Prominences are great swirls of hot gases that leap out of the sun's surface.

(d) A meteor and a meteorite

Meteor	Meteorite
A meteor is a burning rock from outer space that we see streaking across the sky.	A meteorite is a rock from outer space that was once a meteor and has fallen to the earth.