Question

In your own words, describe the matter found in the universe and the relationship between stars, galaxies, and planets

Answer 1

in short: stars are the "element factories" of the universe. all elements higher than lithium or beryllium were "produced" through atomic fusion in stars. (btw: all elements higher than iron were made during a supernova! ) if those higher elements are shot out of a star and gather together, they can (!) form planets or meteorites. Planets are larger meteorites that orbit a star, to put it simply. the planets are warmed up by the energy released by atomic fusion. but the star obviously isn't independent from gravity. in most cases, the star is part of a bigger conglomerate of other stars, which circle around a big gravitational centre. like the milky way. in our galaxy centre, there resides a billion stars heavy black hole. there are other galaxies though that don't rotate.