• Question: how are stars made

    Asked by dansp to Joe, Juan, Kate, Rory, Rosie on 10 Mar 2014.
    • Photo: Kate Salmon

      Kate Salmon answered on 10 Mar 2014:

      Hi @dansp,

      Stars are born in the middle of vast, cold clouds of gas and dust. These are called nebulas and they act like nurseries for baby stars. The best photographed nebula in our solar system is the Eagle Nebula (http://tinyurl.com/o9bk9qp). These clouds eventually start to shrink under their own weight (or gravity) and as it gets smaller, it breaks into clumps. Each of these clumps begin to get hotter until the inside of them reaches 10 million degrees Celcius and this is the point where they become a new star. After being born, planets may form around the central star.

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