Nebulae are the cosmic nurseries where new stars are born.

Nebulae are vast interstellar clouds composed primarily of hydrogen and helium, along with traces of heavier elements. These regions, such as the famous Orion Nebula located 1,344 light-years away, serve as the primary sites for star formation. The process begins when a disturbance, like a nearby supernova shockwave, causes dense regions of the nebula to clump together under the force of gravity.As these clumps collapse, they form protostars. The gravitational energy is converted into heat, causing the temperature to rise dramatically. According to NASA, a protostar must reach a critical core temperature of approximately 15 million degrees Celsius to ignite nuclear fusion. This is the point where hydrogen atoms fuse into helium, releasing the immense energy that makes a star shine.The life cycle within a nebula is a form of cosmic recycling. When massive stars explode as supernovae, they scatter heavy elements like carbon and iron back into the nebula. These materials then become the building blocks for future generations of stars and planetary systems. The Hubble Space Telescope has captured detailed images of 'Pillars of Creation' in the Eagle Nebula, providing visual evidence of this ongoing process.Modern astrophysics categorizes these regions into different types, such as emission nebulae and reflection nebulae. Emission nebulae, like the Omega Nebula, glow with their own light because the high-energy radiation from newborn stars ionizes the surrounding gas. This cycle of birth and death ensures that the universe continues to evolve over billions of years.