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Credit & Copyright: Prelude, Op. 28, No. 4 in E Minor
(Frödöric Chopin)
Explanation:
How do stars form?
Most form in
giant molecular clouds located in the
central disk of a galaxy.
The process is started, influenced, and limited by the
stellar winds,
jets,
high energy starlight,
and supernova explosions of previously existing stars.
The featured video shows these complex interactions as computed by the
STARFORGE simulation of a
gas cloud 20,000 times the mass of
our Sun.
In the
time-lapse visualization,
lighter regions indicate denser gas, color encodes the gas speed
(purple is slow, orange is fast),
while dots indicate the positions of newly
formed stars.
As the video begins,
a gas cloud spanning about 50
light years
begins to condense under its own gravity.
Within 2 million years, the first stars form,
while newly formed massive stars are seen to expel
impressive
jets.
The simulation is
frozen after 4.3 million years,
and the
volume then rotated
to gain a three-dimensional perspective.
Much remains unknown about
star formation, including
the effect of the jets in
limiting the masses of subsequently formed stars.
Portal Universe:
Random APOD Generator
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: star formation
Publications with words: star formation
See also:
- NGC 1893 and the Tadpoles of IC 410
- Star Factory Messier 17
- APOD: 2023 August 28 Á Star Formation in the Pacman Nebula
- APOD: 2023 July 10 Á Stars, Dust and Nebula in NGC 6559
- NGC 1333: Stellar Nursery in Perseus
- APOD: 2023 March 21 Á Dark Nebulae and Star Formation in Taurus
- The Tadpole Nebula in Gas and Dust