It is difficult to determine exactly how many stars are born every day in the Universe, as the process of star formation is complex and not fully understood. However, it is estimated that the rate of star formation in the Universe has decreased over time, with the most intense period of star formation occurring about 10 billion years ago.
Currently, it is estimated that the rate of star formation in the Universe is about one solar mass (the mass of the Sun) worth of new stars per year. This equates to about 3,000 new stars per day, assuming that each star has the mass of the Sun. However, it’s important to note that this is just a rough estimate, as the actual rate of star formation in the Universe is likely to be much more complex and varied.
Witnessing a star’s birth for the first time as an astronomer has just become a dream come true thanks to the James Webb Space Telescope!
Penetrating the dust that hid jets and outflows of stars during their formation
The James Webb Space Telescope has the right technology to be able to see beyond the dust that hides jets and outflows of stars as they form. That’s how scientists were able to use the next-generation telescope to see a star’s birth for the first time ever, according to NASA.
Megan Reiter, an astronomer from Rice University in Houston, Texas, and also the leader of the study, explained, as the space agency’s website quotes:
It opens the door for what’s going to be possible in terms of looking at these populations of newborn stars in fairly typical environments of the universe that have been invisible up until the James Webb Space Telescope,
Now we know where to look next to explore what variables are important for the formation of Sun-like stars.
'Buried treasure': James Webb telescope’s newest images show star at birth https://t.co/lMdnWiCzDo pic.twitter.com/0fUxBRC7T0
— FOX 2 Detroit (@FOX2News) December 22, 2022
Even though stars are born every day across the Universe, it’s clearly not something that you can do at home or in a lab. But don’t worry, as nature can do it for us all at no cost!
How stars are born
Stars are born through a process called star formation, which occurs when clouds of gas and dust in space collapse under their own gravity. As the gas and dust collapse, they begin to heat up and compress, eventually forming a protostar.
As the protostar continues to collapse and heat up, the hydrogen gas at its center begins to fuse together, releasing a tremendous amount of energy in the form of light and heat. This energy helps to counterbalance the inward pull of gravity, and the star reaches a state of equilibrium, in which the outward pressure of the fusion reactions balances the inward pull of gravity. At this point, the star has officially “turned on” and is considered to be a main sequence star.
The process of star formation can take millions or even billions of years, depending on the size of the cloud of gas and dust that is collapsing. It is a complex process that is not fully understood and is the subject of ongoing research in astrophysics.
How stars die
You might be aware already that nothing lasts forever in life, not even those huge spheres of fire that provide heat and energy.
Stars die when they have exhausted their supply of hydrogen fuel and are no longer able to sustain the nuclear reactions that produce energy at their cores. When this happens, the star begins to cool and contract, and its outer layers expand, forming a red giant or a red supergiant.
As the star continues to cool and contract, the helium at its core begins to fuse together, releasing energy and creating new elements such as carbon and oxygen. This process continues until the star has exhausted its helium fuel and is no longer able to sustain nuclear reactions. At this point, the star begins to collapse under its own weight, and its outer layers are expelled into space, forming a planetary nebula.
The remains of the star, known as a white dwarf, are left behind. If the star was particularly massive, it might continue to collapse and form a neutron star or a black hole.
There are many different types of stars in the Universe, and they can be classified based on a number of different characteristics, such as their size, temperature, luminosity, and chemical composition. Some of the main types of stars include red dwarfs, yellow dwarfs, red giants, white dwarfs, and neutron stars.
