Protostar

StarSelf-luminous object held together by its own self-gravity. Often refers to those objects which generate energy from nuclear reactions occurring at their cores, but may also be applied to stellar remnants such as neutron stars. in the process of formation, which has not yet become hot enough in the coreIn the context of planetary formation, the core is the central region of a large differentiated asteroid, planet or moon and made up of denser materials than the surrounding mantle and crust. For example, the cores of the Earth, the terrestrial planets and differentiated asteroids are rich in metallic iron-nickel. Click on Term to Read More to initiate hydrogen burningProcesses by which hydrogen (1H) is fused into helium (4He) with in a star. The five possible fusion paths can be divided into two sets of processes: the Proton-Proton (PP) process, which depends only on the amount of H and He in the star, and the CNO cycle (carbon-nitrogen-oxygen), which Click on Term to Read More (~107 K) to halt its gravitational collapse. Its luminosityBasic property used to characterize stars, luminosity is defined as the total energy radiated by a star each second. An object’s luminosity is often compared to that of the Sun (Lsun = 4 × 1033 ergs/s = 3.9 × 1026 Watts). Luminosity has the same units as power (energy per Click on Term to Read More results from the release of gravitational potential energyEnergy inherent in the potential for gravitational collapse. The gravitational potential energy of a gas of atoms and molecules is: where R = radius of the ball of gas, and M = total mass. Click on Term to Read More from the infall of nebulaAn immense interstellar, diffuse cloud of gas and dust from which a central star and surrounding planets and planetesimals condense and accrete. The properties of nebulae vary enormously and depend on their composition as well as the environment in which they are situated. Emission nebula are powered by young, massive Click on Term to Read More material from its accretion diskDisk-shaped cloud of gas and solids in orbital motion around a central protostar or some other massive central body. Click on Term to Read More.