GMCs
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From Cold Cloud to Hot Protostar
Paradoxically, stars begin in the galaxy’s coolest places: the dense giant molecular clouds (or GMCs). This is not quite the paradox it seems, as in the beginning, stars require little else but gravity to form. And that’s really quite lucky, because…
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How are Stars Born?
Astronomers have discovered that the clouds of gas and dust — the interstellar medium (ISM) — found between the stars are made of the same materials as the stars themselves. In fact, hydrogen is the most common element in both…
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What is Coronal Gas?
Stars are hot. Space is cold. We’re all familiar with that, right? Ok, good. Technically, it’s more complicated than that. Space isn’t completely frigid — absolute zero, the temperature at which there is no heat whatsoever, is purely theoretical and not…
