Interstellar Clouds -- Birthplaces of Stars

The Birthplaces of Stars

Stars are born out of dense clouds of gas and dust that are abundant in the Milky Way galaxy and other spiral galaxies.

A beautiful example of the gas and dust in spiral galaxies can be seen in M100. We see this galaxy nearly face-on, giving us an unobstructed view of the galaxy's disk. The galaxy possesses several hundred billion stars. Its most prominent feature is a set of spiral arms, which lie in the galaxy's disk and wind outward from the central core. The arms contain a patchwork of bright and puffy-looking clouds of gas and dust, each tens to hundreds of light-years across. It is in these interstellar clouds where stars are being born.