Lecture 28 – Star Formation and Evolution, Part 1/3: Star Formation and Early Stages
Summary / Checklist of the Main Concepts to Understand and Remember

The Star Formation Process  
red bullet Where does star formation occur? Interstellar clouds (Mainly what kind? How large can they be?)  
red bullet Why does it occur? What is the main factor causing clouds to collapse and form stars? What nearby events can help trigger the collapse?  
• What is fragmentation, and what does it have to do with star clusters?  
• What is a protostar? When does a protostar become a star?  
     
Outcome of Star Formation and Early Stages  
red bullet When is an astronomical object called a star?  
• Are new stars still being born in our galaxy? Approximately at what rate?  
• Where would you look for places where new stars might be forming, or have recently formed?  
• What things might allow us to recognize a newly formed star?  
red bullet What is the approximate range of masses for stars? (In terms of solar masses.)  
red bullet Why is there a minimum mass for stars? What do we call an object that is too small to become a star?  
red bullet Why aren't there any stars with mass much larger than 100 times the Sun's?  
     
     
     

Topics from the lecture page and textbook not listed above [or between square brackets] were not covered in class;
Underlined words indicate that I will expect students to remember a number or a name related to that topic.

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