High School

What is the typical temperature of an interstellar cloud that could collapse to form a protostar?

A. -441 to -423 degrees Fahrenheit
B. 100 degrees Fahrenheit
C. -100 degrees Fahrenheit
D. 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit

Answer :

Final answer:

The typical temperature of an interstellar cloud that could collapse to form a protostar is around 10 K. New stars are more likely to form in cold molecular clouds due to their high density and ability to shield the interior from heating.

Explanation:

The typical temperature of an interstellar cloud that could collapse to form a protostar is around 10 K (-263 °C). These molecular clouds are extremely cold due to blocking ultraviolet starlight that heats most interstellar gas. It is in these cold molecular clouds that new stars are more likely to form due to their high density and the ability to shield the interior from heating.

This means that the correct answer to your question is not provided as an option; however, it would be between -441 to -423 degrees Fahrenheit (-263 to -253 degrees Celsius). Cold interstellar clouds, or molecular clouds, have high densities and block ultraviolet starlight, which usually heats most interstellar gas, thus they maintain such low temperatures. These cold environments are more suitable for the creation of new stars compared to hot interstellar gases that can reach temperatures of a million degrees or more, as the low temperatures and high densities enable the gravitational collapse required for star formation.

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