Astrophysics (Index)About

star-forming region

(SFR, SF region, stellar nursery)
(area forming stars and/or ready for star formation)

A star-forming region (SF region, stellar nursery, SFR) is a region in space where star formation is taking place, or could happen. The presence of protostars is a clear sign, as well as a dense molecular cloud, perhaps with dust, as is the presence of early-type stars which don't live long and necessarily formed recently. The term SF region is generally used for a fairly large volume that would form a number of stars, such as might result in one or more an open clusters. Sometimes such formation occurs in a long, narrow region termed a filament. The terms Bok globule and dense core refer to smaller regions presumed to be locations where one or more stars are in the process of forming.


Note: the abbreviation SFR is also used for star formation rate.


(star formation,cloud type,molecular hydrogen,gas)
Further reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_formation#Stellar_nurseries
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_star-forming_regions_in_the_Local_Group
https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Stars/Star-forming_regions
https://pages.uoregon.edu/jimbrau/astr122/Notes/Chapter19.html#region

Referenced by pages:
30 Doradus (30 Dor)
ASTHROS
bar
CFBDS
cloud
constellation
Cygnus-X
dark nebula
Dickel-Wendker-Bieritz Catalog (DWB)
emission nebula
epoch of reionization (EOR)
gas-to-dust ratio (GDR)
globular cluster (GC)
Gould's Belt
Gould's Belt Distances Survey (GOBELINS)
Hayashi track
Herbig-Haro object (HH)
Herschel Orion Protostar Survey (HOPS)
HI gas mass
infrared dark cloud (IRDC)
Infrared Space Observatory (ISO)
intensity mapping (IM)
Kennicutt-Schmidt law
Lambda Boötis star (λ Boo)
Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC)
Lyman-break galaxy (LBG)
maser
metallicity gradient
molecular cloud
moving group
nebula
Nessie
NGC 2363
NGC 346
Orion
Orion Molecular Cloud Complex
Orion Nebula (M42)
PAH emissions
position-position-velocity space (PPV)
protoplanetary disk (PPD)
Radcliffe wave
radio source (RS)
rare designator prefixes
Rho Ophiuchi Cloud Complex
Scutum-Centaurus Arm
Serpens Cloud
silicon monoxide (SiO)
star formation (SF)
star formation history (SFH)
star formation rate (SFR)
Taurus Molecular Cloud 1 (TMC-1)
Taurus-Auriga Complex (Tau-Aur Complex)
Trapezium Cluster
W51
Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE)
young stellar object (YSO)

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