Did You Know: Space – Where do stars come from?
Stars are big balls of gas that give off heat and light.
They begin their lives in huge, cold clouds of gas and dust that are called nebulas. There are many different nebulas scattered throughout most galaxies.
Eagle Nebula
The Eagle Nebula is a region of gas and dust in space where stars form. It is more than 5.5 million years old!
How stars are born
New stars are being born every day and they all go through the same growing process. The sun was created in this way 4.6 billion years ago.
Clumps of gas form
Inside a nebula, clumps of gas start to come together inside a molecular cloud.
The clumps contract
These clumps of gas and dust contract, or become smaller. The gravity of this new clump pulls in more dust from around it.
A spinning disk
The clump shrinks to form a hot, dense core. It is surrounded by a spinning disk of matter with jets of gas that shoot out from the top and bottom.
The star lights up
When the center is hot enough, energy is released and a star is born. A disk of extra matter still orbits the young star.
The disk moves on
The leftover disk material can become planets, moons, asteroids, or comets— or may just remain as dust.
Have other nebulas been discovered?
Horsehead Nebula
The Horsehead Nebula was discovered by astronomers in 1888. It makes a beautiful picture in space.
Carina Nebula
The Carina Nebula is about 7,500 light- years from the Earth. It is thought to be home to more than 14,000 stars!
Pillars of Creation
These columns of gas and dust are called the Pillars of Creation, because stars are born inside them.
They are about 57 trillion miles (92 trillion km) high. That is twice the distance from the sun to the closest star.