Where are new stars formed in nebulae?

• A. stellar nurseries
• B. black holes
• C. planetary systems
• D. comet tails

Answer: (A)

Stars form in dense pockets of gas and dust inside nebulae, often called stellar nurseries. Gravity pulls material in these clumps, causing them to collapse and heat up until a protostar forms, which can eventually ignite fusion to become a new star. Nebulae rich in molecular gas provide the cold, shielded environment needed for this collapse, so these regions are where new stars come into existence. The other options don’t describe birthplaces of stars: black holes are remnants of massive stars, not formation sites; planetary systems form around stars after they’re born; comet tails are features of comets, not star-forming regions. Observations of star-forming regions like the Orion Nebula show newborn stars embedded in gas and dust, illustrating how stellar nurseries give rise to new stars.