Concept information
Preferred term
protostar
Definition(s)
- A protostar is a very young star that is still gathering mass from its parent molecular cloud. The protostellar phase is the earliest one in the process of stellar evolution. For a low-mass star (i.e. that of the Sun or lower), it lasts about 500,000 years. The phase begins when a molecular cloud fragment first collapses under the force of self-gravity and an opaque, pressure supported core forms inside the collapsing fragment. It ends when the infalling gas is depleted, leaving a pre-main-sequence star, which contracts to later become a main-sequence star at the onset of hydrogen fusion producing helium. (Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protostar)
Broader concept(s)
Narrower concept(s)
Synonym(s)
- protostellar nebula
- protostellar nebulae
In other languages
-
French
-
nébuleuse protostellaire
-
proto-étoile
URI
http://data.loterre.fr/ark:/67375/MDL-D3TCXM3S-4
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