What type of star is formed from a nebula in the initial stages of its life cycle?

A star that forms from a nebula in the initial stages of its life cycle is known as a protostar. This phase occurs when gravitational forces pull together gas and dust within the nebula, causing the material to clump and collapse. As the clump collapses, it begins to heat up, and the pressures within it increase.

During this process, the core of the protostar accumulates mass, and temperatures rise to the point where nuclear fusion can eventually occur. However, at the protostar stage, fusion has not yet started. This period is crucial as it lays the groundwork for the star's evolution into a main-sequence star once fusion begins.

The other types of stars mentioned—red giants, white dwarfs, and neutron stars—represent more advanced stages in the stellar life cycle and occur long after the protostar phase has taken place. Red giants are formed when a star exhausts its hydrogen fuel in the core and expands; white dwarfs are the remnants of low to intermediate-mass stars after they have shed their outer layers; and neutron stars represent the incredibly dense cores left after massive stars explode in supernova events. Each of these stages follows the protostar phase, marking the importance of the protostar as the very