1. The Birth of a Star Kyle K Shane G Mark F

2. Interstellar Cloud The name given to an accumulation of gas, plasma and dust in our and other galaxies.

3. A Collapsing Cloud Fragment One of many fragments in a typical interstellar cloud that contains one or two solar masses of material. This fragment eventually collapses.

4. Fragmentation Ceases The fragment eventually shrinks to the size of a solar system and starts to heat up. This stage is when the fragment starts to look like a star.

5. Protostar 100,000 years into the stars lifecycle it enters stage 4. The protostar continues to shrink. –Its density increases –Its temperature rises

6. Protostellar Evolution In stage 5 the protostar has shrunk to 10 times the size of the sun. Its central temperature is approximately 5,000,000 K.

7. A Newborn Star The central temperature reaches 10,000,000 K which triggers nuclear burning. –This process causes the star to be born.

8. The Main Sequence Over 30,000,000 years the star continues to contract. Its central temperature reaches 15,000,000 K. Stage 7 is about where our sun is now.

9. Works Cited http://physics.fortlewis.edu www.wikipedia.org