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moe darklight
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I was showering and I realized I have no clue... all you read about is HOW they form, but I've never read whether they are still forming or not...
moe darklight said:I was showering and I realized I have no clue... all you read about is HOW they form, but I've never read whether they are still forming or not...
marcus said:they are still forming
rich clouds of gas where young stars are getting started have been observed and photographed
PhysicsDilettante said:Is there an example or two yet where astronomers have looked at those rich clouds of gas and actually observed a new star that hadn't been seen before? Or does the timescale for how frequently a new star "turns on" along with the problems of seeing through those rich clouds of gas where they are forming make this an unlikely observation?
New planets and stars form through a process called accretion, where particles of gas and dust in a nebula come together due to gravitational attraction. As the particles collide and stick together, they grow larger and eventually form into planets or stars.
The main source of energy for new stars is nuclear fusion, where the intense gravitational pressure and heat in the core of a star causes hydrogen atoms to fuse together and form helium, releasing a tremendous amount of energy.
Yes, new planets and stars are constantly forming in our galaxy. The Milky Way has an estimated 100 billion stars, and it is believed that new stars are forming at a rate of about 7 per year. As for new planets, the TESS mission has already discovered over 2,000 exoplanets and continues to find more.
The time it takes for a new planet or star to form can vary greatly depending on factors such as the size of the nebula and the rate of accretion. Generally, it can take anywhere from a few hundred thousand to a few million years for a new star to form, while the process of planet formation can take millions to billions of years.
Yes, we can observe the formation of new planets and stars through various methods such as telescopes, infrared imaging, and radio and X-ray telescopes. These observations have given us valuable insights into the processes and conditions involved in the formation of these celestial bodies.