Category:Star

A star (like our Sun) is a luminous sphere of plasma held together by its own gravity. Stars form from giant, interstellar clouds of gas (mostly hydrogen along with some helium), known as giant molecular clouds, which collapse in on themselves due to gravity and form a protostar. Once the collection of material is dense enough, core temperatures rise to around 10 million Kelvin and the process of thermonuclear fusion (the fusing of hydrogen atoms into helium atoms) begins and the star becomes a main sequence star.

A star shines due to this thermonuclear fusion of hydrogen into helium, which takes place at its core. This process creates energy, which radiates from the star’s core, through the interior of the star until it reaches the star’s surface, whereupon it radiates into space. The hydrostatic equilibrium between the inward gravity and outward radiation pressure of a main sequence star keeps it stable for many years (depending on the mass of the star).