Stars form in massive clouds of gas called molecular clouds. As they form, they accrete gas from these clouds, and as the ...

Galaxies like our Milky Way grew through cascading mergers of smaller galaxies that began billions of years ago. The ancient ...

When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The beautiful Chamaeleon I star-forming region as seen by the ...

The red shade shows the atomic hydrogen gas content of the galaxy, overlaid on the optical image. The atomic gas that is outside the white circle does not contribute significantly to the formation of ...

For decades, astronomers have wondered what the very first stars in the universe were like. These stars formed new chemical elements, which enriched the universe and allowed the next generations of ...

What stage of a star’s life do planets start forming? This is what a recent study published in Nature Communications hopes to address as a pair of researchers from the Southwest Research Institute ...

Theorists have long wondered how massive stars–up to 120 times the mass of the Sun–can form without blowing away the clouds of gas and dust that feed their growth. But the problem turns out to be less ...

Planet formation around low-mass stars may be suffering from Peter Pan syndrome. While previous observations and models have suggested that a disk of planetary building blocks should be 'fully grown' ...

The formation of small worlds like Earth previously was thought to occur mostly around stars rich in heavy elements such as iron and silicon. However, new ground-based observations, combined with data ...

Luke Keller does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their ...