A protostar is a very young star that is still gathering mass from its parent molecular cloud. It is the earliest phase in the process of stellar evolution. [1]

Oct 30, 2025 · What is a Protostar? A protostar is a stage in the formation of a star where a dense cloud of gas and dust begins to collapse under its own gravity. This collapse t

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Aug 30, 2004 · The image below shows a very young protostar, still deeply embedded in its dust cloud. The star itself is the bright red spot near the base of the dark region. The

A protostar looks like a star but its core is not yet hot enough for fusion to take place. The luminosity comes exclusively from the heating of the protostar as it contracts.

Jan 19, 2026 · This Hubble Space Telescope image shows a protostar and the cavernous shape it's carved out of the surrounding gas in the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex. Background

As a protostar radiates, it shrinks in size to generate the energy that replaces the radiated energy. This shrinkage increases the self-gravity of the protostar, which is accompani

Jan 20, 2026 · The massive protostar HW2 provides much of the illumination in the image, creating the pink and white nebular region in the upper left.

Nov 16, 2022 · NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has revealed the once-hidden features of the protostar within the dark cloud L1527, providing insight into the beginnings of a n

4 days ago · A protostar’s jets of high-speed particles are responsible for the bright region of excited, glowing hydrogen in this Hubble image. Newly developing stars shrouded