eli5: how are stars born from gas and dust?

Question

The carrina nebula is described as a star nursery. How are stars formed from that gas and dust?

In: 1

Answer 1

It is referred to this way because gravity attracts the local gas and dust and it grows until it has enough mass for fusion to ignite the core and prevent further inward collapse. This ignition or star birth can further condense other regions of gas and dust and they so too ignite as the chain reactions continue for eons as however many light years away it is in space it is as many years back in time.