STARFORGE: A Star Formation Simulation

Explanation: How do stars form? Most form in giant molecular clouds located in the central disk of a galaxy . The process is started, influenced, and limited by the stellar winds , jets , high energy starlight , and supernova explosions of previously existing stars. The featured video shows these complex interactions as computed by the STARFORGE simulation of a gas cloud 20,000 times the mass of our Sun . In the time-lapse visualization , lighter regions indicate denser gas, color encodes the gas speed (purple is slow, orange is fast), while dots indicate the positions of newly formed stars . As the video begins, a gas cloud spanning about 50 light years begins to condense under its own gravity. Within 2 million years, the first stars form, while newly formed massive stars are seen to expel impressive jets . The simulation is frozen after 4.3 million years, and the volume then rotated to gain a three-dimensional perspective. Much remains unknown about star formation , including the effect of the jets in limiting the masses of subsequently formed stars .

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