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]

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 bright spots above the star …

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 triggers the process of nuclear …

How NASA’s Roman Mission Will Unveil Our Home Galaxy Using Cosmic Dust Article 3 Min Read Webb Telescope: A prominent protostar in Perseus Multimedia Go To Galleries

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.

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 accompanied by an increase in the …

May 21, 2024 · What is a Protostar? A protostar is a young star which is in the early stages of formation, before it reaches the main sequence stage. This stage of star formation can last 100,000 years or …

Description: A protostar is an early stage in the star formation process. It is a large mass of gas and dust formed as a result of the contraction of a giant molecular cloud in the interstellar medium.

During this time, and up until hydrogen burning begins and it joins the main sequence, the object is known as a protostar. This stage of stellar evolution may last for between 100,000 and 10 million …

Dec 20, 2025 · A Protostar is the first stage of a star’s life after an event of some form has caused a nebula of dust and cloud to collapse. It has not yet built enough mass to fuse hydrogen to helium.