Fact of the Day: 20/01/2021

Stars are hot – incredibly hot. But did you know that they form from some of the coldest objects in the Universe?

The massive clouds of gas and dust that form stars (called molecular clouds because of how we detect what’s in them) usually have a frigid temperature of about 200 degrees Kelvin (-73˚ C). At this stage, their pressure is just enough to counteract the force of gravity that’s trying to collapse them, so they stay in equilibrium. However, when they cool further from natural loss of thermal radiation, they get to about 3 K (-270˚ C) in temperature – only 3 degrees above absolute zero! Cloud pressure then becomes low enough for gravity to do its work and help produce stars.

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