How are stars formed from clouds of gas and dust?

Stars are born when giant clouds of gas and dust squeeze together until they're hot enough to shine.

Imagine you have a big pile of fluffy cotton candy, that’s like the cloud of gas and dust in space. Now, imagine it starts to get squished, like when you press your hand down on a pillow. This happens because of gravity, which is like an invisible hug that pulls things together.

As the cloud gets squeezed, it gets warmer, just like how a balloon gets hot when you rub it on your head. Eventually, it becomes so hot and tight that the gas starts to glow, and a star is born!

Sometimes, if there's extra stuff left over from the squeeze, it can form planets or other stars nearby, kind of like how sometimes you get extra cotton candy when you go to the fair.

Once the star is born, it shines because it keeps burning fuel inside it, just like a campfire needs wood to keep going. And that's how stars are made from big clouds in space!