By: Katyayani Karlapati I am on the C Team BEYOND THE EARTH By: Katyayani Karlapati I am on the C Team

What are planets? They are an astronomical object orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighboring region of planetesimals. (a minute planet; a body that could or did come together with many others under gravitation to form a planet.)

What are stars? They are a luminous ball of gas, mostly hydrogen and helium, held together by its own gravity. Nuclear fusion reactions in its core support the star against gravity and produce photons and heat, as well as small amounts of heavier elements. Like the Sun is the closest star to Earth.

Types of Planets and Their Meanings Terrestrial Planets – are earth like planets that are made of rocks and/or other metals and they have a solid surface that makes them different from other planets that don’t have a solid surface. Terrestrial planets also have topological features such as valleys, volcanoes and craters. In our solar system there are four terrestrial planets and they are Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. Gas Giants – are large planets that are 10 times bigger than Earth. Gas giants ae also know are the Jovian or Outer Planets. They are mostly made of gases like hydrogen and small amounts of rocks at there core. The four gas giants in our solar system are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

Types of Planets and TheIR Meanings continue Dwarf Planet – is a planetary-mass object that is not a planet or a natural satellite. It is in direct orbit of the sun and has enough gravity to shape itself into a sphere. The dwarf planets that we know are Pluto, Eris, and Ceres. However, only two of the planets, Ceres and Pluto, have been observed in enough in detail to demonstrate that they actually fit the IAU's definition. The IAU accepted Eris as a dwarf planet because it is bigger than Pluto. Exoplanet – are planets that are orbiting other stars than our sun. There have been 3,472 exoplanets confirmed since 1988. There are many exoplanet out there that we have not found and we might never find them all.

Types of Stars and Their Meanings Red Giant Stars – Once a star has used up all of its hydrogen fuel it transitions in to a red giant. Depending on the size of the star it becomes a black hole, white dwarf, or neutron star. In only a few billion years, our own sun will turn into a red giant. White Dwarfs – After a star becomes a red giant the outward radiation pressure overwhelms the gravitational pressure and the star expands farther out into space. The outside of the star goes into space and the core is the only thing that remains. This core is a smoldering ball of carbon and other various elements that glows as it cools.

Types of Stars and their meanings continue Neutron Stars – There only objects known to exist in the Universe that have greater density are black holes. When a massive star reaches the end of its life it undergoes a supernova explosion, leaving behind its incredibly dense core. There only objects known to exist in the Universe that have greater density are black holes. Brown Dwarf – They form in the same manner as normal stars, however they never quite accumulate enough mass to ignite nuclear fusion in their cores. Therefore they are smaller than main stars. In fact those that have been detected are more similar to the planet Jupiter in size, though much more massive.

Sources http://space-facts.com/gas-giants/ http://www.space.com/17028-terrestrial-planets.html http://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/exoplanet- exploration/ http://planetary-science.org/planetary-science-3/what-is- planetary-science/ http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-resources/what-is- a-star/

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