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THE FORMATION OF A STAR

The formation of a star

Formation
The space between stars contains gas and dust at a very low density. This interstellar matter tends to gather into clouds. Sometimes the density becomes high enough so that gravity causes contraction, leading to the formation of a protostar. As a protostar slowly contracts, its pressure and temperature increase, the temperature rise being the result of the release of gravitational energy. Any hot object radiates energy, and the protostar eventually becomes hot enough to shine, although temperatures are not yet great enough to sustain nuclear reactions. The pressure builds up enough almost to balance gravity, but the radiation emitted drains energy and does not allow the internal pressure to complete the balance. Therefore the contraction (and heating) slowly continue.
The temperature at the center of the protostar finally becomes high enough to initiate nuclear reactions and the subsequent release of nuclear energy. This is what we call Hydrostati...

Posted by: Amy Hetzel

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