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Starbirth

The process in which a cloud of interstellar gas and dust collapses to form a new star. The collapse may be triggered by the shockwave from an exploding star, the gravity of a passing star cluster, or some other external source. The process fragments a cloud that may span many light-years into smaller pockets of matter, which collapse under their own gravitational pull. As such a pocket of matter collapses, its core gets hotter and hotter. When it gets hot enough, it triggers the process of nuclear fusion, which powers the newborn star.

Resources

Cosmic Beacons May 21, 2010

Radio Programs

Magnetic Birth Magnetic fields and the birth of stars February 8, 2021

Super Clusters Super star clusters in a nearby galaxy December 8, 2020

Galactic Ripples Rippling through the Milky Way September 7, 2020

Galactic UFO A “UFO” from a giant black hole July 8, 2020

Serpens Nurseries Busy nurseries in the serpent July 6, 2020

Windy Black Holes Star-killing winds from black holes June 15, 2020

Southern Pinwheel Pinwheeling across the southern sky April 28, 2020

Galactic Fireworks Fireworks from a modest galaxy April 12, 2020

‘Windy’ Galaxies Busy galaxies that underperform March 25, 2020

Alnitak Giving birth to supergiants March 11, 2020

Witch Head Nebula Illuminating the face of a witch January 20, 2020

Triangulum Galaxy A galaxy in a class of its own November 17, 2019

Stellar Nurseries A busy stellar nursery August 29, 2019

Starburst The Milky Way gets busy August 18, 2019

Cloudy Skies Flickering clouds near young stars March 29, 2019

Making Stars Stirring up stellar nurseries March 11, 2019

Orion Veil A type of stellar birth control March 2, 2019

More Monoceros Starbirth in the unicorn February 12, 2019

Extreme Starbursts Taking starbirth to the extreme November 20, 2018

Atoms for Peace A speech lives on in the stars September 28, 2018

Moon and Antares Impressive groups of stars September 15, 2018

Barnard 68 The birthplace of future stars June 7, 2018

Pipe Nebula Puffing through the Milky Way June 6, 2018

Embryonic Planet? A possible new planet around a new star May 2, 2018

‘O’ Stars The showiest stars in the galaxy April 12, 2018

Second-Chance Planets New planets after a stellar explosion January 25, 2018

Feedback Slowing down the stellar birth rate September 8, 2017

Making a Star Stages in the birth of a star September 7, 2017

Scorpion’s Tail The scorpion’s fearsome tail July 13, 2017

Scorpion’s Head An arachnid with a case of the “bighead” July 12, 2017

Leo’s Triplets A galactic trio in the lion May 11, 2017

Vela Nursery Sailing into a young stellar nursery April 2, 2017

Growth Spurt A growth spurt in a distant galaxy March 27, 2017

M82 A gas crisis for a vigorous galaxy March 26, 2017

Moon and Spica Making stellar companions December 22, 2016

Tarantula Nebula Making stars by the basketful July 5, 2016

Grand M81 A “grand design” for a galaxy May 24, 2016

Zeta Herculis Stellar siblings spread out April 4, 2016

Evaporating Galaxy A galaxy that’s ripping itself apart March 23, 2016

Making Stars Ways to make stellar companions March 14, 2016

Whirlpool Galaxy Stirring up some hot young stars March 3, 2016

Planetary Pebbles Ingredients for a giant planet February 14, 2016

Horsehead Nebula Destroying a dark horsehead February 13, 2016

IC 1396 A busy stellar nursery January 28, 2016

Featured Images

artist's concept of ID2299, a galaxy that is losing much of its gas

Losing Gas January 12, 2021
NGC 247, a galaxy in Sculptor

Galactic Dark Zone December 7, 2020

Star Factory June 15, 2020
Hubble Space Telescope view of Messier 83, the Southern Pinwheel Galaxy

Mini Milky Way April 27, 2020
ngc 2014, ngc 2020

Stellar Reef April 25, 2020
Hubble Space Telescope view of galaxy NGC 4449

Windy Galaxy March 25, 2020
Rosette Nebula

A Big Rose January 26, 2020
Perseus Molecular Cloud in Infrared

Stellar Nursery December 27, 2019
NGC 604 in the Triangulum Galaxy

Star Factory November 17, 2019
NGC 6052

Messy Merger August 20, 2019
Infrared view of a stellar nursery in Cepheus

Busy Nursery June 3, 2019
W40 stellar nursery

Delicate Butterfly March 28, 2019

Galactic Nurseries March 11, 2019
ALMA view of jets and outflows from a newborn star

Busy Baby February 27, 2019
ngc 2264

Rolling Starbirth February 12, 2019
A stellar nursery in the Large Magellanic Cloud

Blowing Bubbles February 6, 2019
Hubble Space Telescope view of D100, a galaxy that is losing gas as it plummets into the Coma Cluster

Running Out of Gas January 25, 2019
HST view of galaxies near the Big Dipper

Galaxies, Galaxies, Galaxies August 31, 2018
the merging galaxy ngc 3256

Galactic Mash-Up June 2, 2018
Hubble Space Telescope view of the core of the Lagoon Nebula

Colorful Nursery April 24, 2018

Dusty Star April 14, 2018
Hubble view of NGC 2467

Starry Lineup April 10, 2018
Composite view of the Orion Nebula

Future Stars March 8, 2018
Quasar 3c 298

'Pushy' Black Hole February 26, 2018
Lupus 3 star forming region

Light and Dark February 8, 2018
multi-wavelength views of the giant galaxy UGC 1382

Surprising Monster October 15, 2017
Multi-wavelength view of NGC 6946, the Fireworks Galaxy

Fireworks Factory August 23, 2017
VLT image of three galactic nebulae: M17, M16, and Sharpless 2-54

Galactic Nurseries June 29, 2017
ALMA view of an explosion in the Orion Nebula

Violent Starbirth April 7, 2017
HST view of Messier 82

Busy Galaxy March 26, 2017
NGC 6334 and NGC 6357

Galactic Menagerie February 2, 2017
sequence of images depicting the merger of M31 and Milky Way galaxies

Crash Course January 11, 2017
Infrared view of Orion Nebula and surrounding clouds of gas and dust

Making Stars January 5, 2017
Protoplanetary disks around three young stars

Swirling Planets November 9, 2016
R136, a massive star cluster in the Large Magellanic Cloud

Biggest of the Big July 6, 2016
A star-forming region in the Large Magellanic Cloud

Busy Nursery June 18, 2016
V1331 Cygni, a newly forming star

Almost There June 14, 2016
Strong winds blowing from a black hole in a distant spiral galaxy

Windy Black Hole January 15, 2016
The odd galaxy NGC 660

Busy Galaxy December 18, 2015
Jets from a protostar in Serpens

Huffing and Puffng November 6, 2015
Hubble Space Telescope image of a young star cluster

Anniversary Portrait April 23, 2015
Hubble Space Telescope image of spiral galaxy Messier 66

Evidence of an Encounter April 12, 2015
Infrared view of the interstellar medium

Filling the Void April 9, 2015