protostar
noun
pro·to·star
| \ ˈprō-tō-ˌstär
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Definition of protostar
: a cloud of gas and dust in space believed to develop into a star
Examples of protostar in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
One of these contracting masses of gas, known as a protostar, represents a star’s nascent phase. — Catherine Zuckerman, National Geographic, "Everything you wanted to know about stars," 20 Mar. 2019 The forming star, or protostar, is about 11,000 light years away, in a much denser and more volatile region of the galaxy. — Jay Bennett, Popular Mechanics, "Astronomers Catch Rare Sight of Incredibly Massive Star's Formation," 21 Aug. 2016 In the center, the material clumped together to form a protostar that would eventually become the sun. — Valerie Strauss, Washington Post, "Facts about our sun and moon that you’re embarrassed to admit you don’t know," 9 Aug. 2017 This contact triggered a forceful explosion that hurled streams of dust, gas, and other protostars into interstellar space at speeds over 90 miles per second, according to a statement from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO). — Brigit Katz, Smithsonian, "Scientists Capture Beautiful, Explosive Collision of Young Stars," 12 Apr. 2017These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'protostar.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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