Q&A: Normal Stars, White Dwarf Stars, and Star Clusters

Q: How do scientists detect the birth of a star?


A:
The process of star formation is too slow for scientists to really say they can see the birth of a star, but scientists have been able to observe many of the earliest stages in the life of a star, by looking at regions containing dense clouds of dust and gas, and clusters of young stars that have already formed from the gas. Many stars in these regions are so young that they are still surrounded by remnants of the disk of gas and dust that originally led to the formation of the star. These "protoplanetary disks" are where planets form. Two examples of star forming regions are the Orion Nebula and the Eagle Nebula.