What would a universe without stars look like?
(click image for larger version) Cosmic Cloud in Perseus The C2d Legacy Project captured this image of stars forming Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Besides cold and dark, it would also look relatively empty and lifeless, as chemical elements like carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and most others which are necessary to create planets and sustain life wouldn’t exist. Almost all chemical elements other than hydrogen and helium are born inside stars and spread across the universe when stars die. Despite their importance, much about the birth and early life of stars remains a mystery. That’s why a team of astronomers on a Spitzer Legacy project called “From Molecular Cores to Planet-Forming Disks,” abbreviated “c2d,” are pointing all three instruments aboard NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope toward young stars forming in a variety of nearby cosmic clouds. “The main goal of our project is to study the nature of star formation and the beginnings of planet formation,” said Dr. Neal Evans, principal investigato
