A nebula, an immense cloud of hydrogen gas and dust, condenses into smaller regions of matter. On occasion, one of these regions collapses under the force of its own gravitational attraction, often triggered by an outside force, like a nearby supernova-an explosion of a star. After the collapse of a cloud, atoms begin gravitating together to form a condensed center. The condensed center is a protostar. As gravity pulls in more gas and dust, pressure builds, causing the protostar core to heat up. Clouds and matter begin to rotate around the protostar and flatten due to their rotation. They surround the protostar like a rotating disk. The protostar continues to grow and its core continues to heat. When the core is hot enough, nuclear fusion begins. The start of nuclear fusion is technically the beginning of a star's life. Eventually, when the nuclear energy runs out, the star dies. Depending on the size and mass of the star, it can go through many stages and die in different ways-one of those ways being a supernova.…