Protostars: Where Stars Are Born

Protostars are the earliest stage of a star’s life, forming deep inside giant molecular clouds.
Gravity pulls gas and dust together, creating a dense core that begins to heat up.
Protostars are hidden from visible light, often only detectable in infrared wavelengths.
As material collapses, it spins, forming a rotating disk around the growing protostar.
These surrounding disks are the birthplace of future planets, moons, and asteroids.
Protostars do not yet shine from fusion but glow from the heat of gravitational compression.
Jets of gas and powerful stellar winds often blast away excess material as the star forms.
This stage lasts only a few hundred thousand years—a blink compared to a star’s full lifespan.
Protostars can form in clusters, giving birth to entire groups of stars within a nebula.
When core temperatures reach about 10 million degrees Celsius, nuclear fusion ignites, and a true star is born.