Birth of Fomalhaut

Fomalhaut was born/created around 100-300 billion years ago.  In relation to other stars including the Sun, Fomalhaut is a very young star.  Below are the stages Fomalhaut took to becoming a star.  All stars go through a similar process before officially becoming a star.

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Nebula

All stars are formed by nebula, a nebula is a cloud of gas and dust.  Nebulae form when there is one element that has more mass than the other elements, causing elements with less mass to be attracted to the elements with more mass.  A star forms when the gases inside a nebula contracts and gravitate towards one another.  The gases and dust that start to contract get hotter and build pressure as it contracts.  When the nebula starts to contract it becomes a protostar.

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Protostar

After the nebula contracts it becomes a protostar.  Protostars are not very hot and last only about 100,000 years. A protostar is essentially a baby star, you know when the protostar becomes a star because it begins nuclear fusion.  After the protostar stage the pressure in the core becomes great enough to begin nuclear fusion.

Nuclear Fusion

Nuclear Fusion

In the center of stars, atoms are torn apart by atomic collisions that alters the atomic structure, and releases energy.  This creates heat and light.  During nuclear fusion, nuclei combine to create a larger nuclei which creates a new element.  Most of the time it changes from hydrogen to helium but in larger stars other elements are created as well.  In order for nuclear fusion to take place, you need an enormous amount of pressure, which can be found in the core of a star.  When nuclear fusion begins, the star is born and it moves onto the main sequence.

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