In this contribution, peculiarities in the nature of strange quarks in relevance to astrophysics are investigated. The absolute stability of strange quark matter is a viable possibility and immensely affects physics at the astrophysical scale. Relativistic heavy-ion reactions offer a stage to produce this exotic state of matter and we have discussed the enhanced production of strange particles during these reactions within the framework of quark-gluon plasma (QGP) along with its observable implications. The role of strangeness for compact star phenomenology is explored. Emphasis is laid upon the possibility of existence of a third family of strange quark stars and its study help in revealing a number of unexplored features of the cosmos. Bag model parameters have been used to determine some integral parameters for a sequence of strange stars with crust and strange dwarfs constructed out of strange quark matter crust. A comparative analysis is performed between the strange and neutron stars and the strange and white dwarfs based upon these intrinsic parameters and paramount differences are observed.
