What is the approximate temperature of Giant Molecular Clouds during star formation?
Answer
Around 10 Kelvin (-263 degrees Celsius)
Giant Molecular Clouds (GMCs) are the cosmic nurseries where stars begin their lives, and their extremely cold temperature is a prerequisite for gravitational collapse. These massive reservoirs of gas and dust hover around 10 Kelvin, or -263 degrees Celsius. This frigid state is vital because low thermal energy directly translates into low internal pressure. When the internal pressure is sufficiently low, it can no longer effectively counteract the immense inward pull of the cloud's own gravity, thus allowing the gravitational forces to dominate and initiate the contraction process necessary for star birth.
#Videos
How the Universe Works - A Star is Born - YouTube
Related Questions
What is the approximate temperature of Giant Molecular Clouds during star formation?What fundamental forces dictate the prolonged process of stellar birth?What external phenomenon can compress a Giant Molecular Cloud to trigger collapse?What process occurs when a gravitationally unstable core breaks into smaller, denser clumps?What is the energy source for the early glow of a protostar before sustained nuclear fusion?What powerful, collimated outflows erupt perpendicular to the accretion disk during accretion?What structure, formed due to the conservation of angular momentum, acts as a reservoir for the protostar?For a star similar to the Sun, what critical temperature must the core reach to initiate sustained nuclear fusion?What is the designation for a fragment that fails to reach the temperatures needed for hydrogen fusion?What specific stage characterizes the pre-main sequence phase for stars like our Sun, marked by strong stellar winds?