Can someone explain to me what the difference between a star, supernova, planet, nebula, etc?
A nebula is a spinning cloud of gas and dust. When the gas and dust collect at the center of the nebula, a protostar is formed. When the protostar is big enough, nuclear fusion begins. When nuclear fusion begins, the protostar becomes a star and starts ‘burning’ and shines. A supernova is the explosion of an extremely high mass star. A planet is formed from planetesimals formed by the excess amounts of gas and dust from nebulae. In short: A nebula is like the womb of a star. A star is a gigantic ball of hydrogen and helium and a trace amount of other gases. A supernova is its death.
