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Calla Rose Ostrander explores how stars are born and wishes KVNF listeners Cosmic Love this Valentines Day.
These nebula star nurseries are full of movement, stellar winds and massive turbulence, that shapes denser gases and dust into cloud-like formations. Over many thousands of years groups of clouds coalesce around each other and as they come close, the gravitational force created by their mass pulls them in until they collapse together and become combined even denser masses. The density of this matter causes the core of what will, 50,000 years later become a star.
The density of this “proto-star” continues to increase even as its matter shrinks, condensing and compressing until fountains of excess material eject from its poles spewing new elements into space. Around it’s new axis it spins, and a large cloud or disk of dust emanates from its center. Like a spinning ice skater’s skirt this cloud twirls around the star, which again begins to gather mass as particles from its skirt fall into and combine with its ever growing body.