Star Nurseries
Stars are born inside dark clouds of gas and dust. Our Sun was born in one about 4.6 billion years ago.
What’s going on
Space between the stars holds vast, cold clouds of gas and dust. Where a clump grows dense enough, gravity pulls it inward and it heats up, until hydrogen begins to fuse and a new star switches on. Young stars then blow away much of the leftover cloud with their light and winds, carving the glowing pillars seen in telescope pictures. Dust left circling a young star can gather into planets.
Myth
Stars have always been there and are never born.
Fact
New stars are still forming in our galaxy today.
Learn more
OpenStax, Astronomy 2e, ch. 21 “The Birth of Stars and the Discovery of Planets outside the Solar System”; NASA Science, “Sun: Facts” (age).
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