During this time, and up until hydrogen burning begins and it joins the main sequence, the object is known as a protostar. This stage of stellar evolution may last for between 100,000 and 10 million years depending on the size of the star being formed.

How was protostar formed?

How is a Protostar Formed? Inside a nebula, there are areas where gravity causes dust and gas to “clump” together. As these “clumps” gather more and more mass their gravitational pull increases, forcing more atoms together. This process is known as accretion, and the result is a protostar.

What stage is a protostar?

STAGE 2: A Protostar Is a Baby Star The protostar phase is the earliest one in the process of stellar evolution. The phase begins when a molecular cloud fragment first collapses under the force of self-gravity and an opaque, pressure supported core forms inside the collapsing fragment.