<Li> IRS 8 *--The youngest known main sequence star in the Galactic Center region, discovered in August 2006 . It is estimated to be 3.5 million years old . </Li> <P> Stars of different masses are thought to form by slightly different mechanisms . The theory of low - mass star formation, which is well - supported by a plethora of observations, suggests that low - mass stars form by the gravitational collapse of rotating density enhancements within molecular clouds . As described above, the collapse of a rotating cloud of gas and dust leads to the formation of an accretion disk through which matter is channeled onto a central protostar . For stars with masses higher than about 8 M, however, the mechanism of star formation is not well understood . </P> <P> Massive stars emit copious quantities of radiation which pushes against infalling material . In the past, it was thought that this radiation pressure might be substantial enough to halt accretion onto the massive protostar and prevent the formation of stars with masses more than a few tens of solar masses . Recent theoretical work has shown that the production of a jet and outflow clears a cavity through which much of the radiation from a massive protostar can escape without hindering accretion through the disk and onto the protostar . Present thinking is that massive stars may therefore be able to form by a mechanism similar to that by which low mass stars form . </P> <P> There is mounting evidence that at least some massive protostars are indeed surrounded by accretion disks . Several other theories of massive star formation remain to be tested observationally . Of these, perhaps the most prominent is the theory of competitive accretion, which suggests that massive protostars are "seeded" by low - mass protostars which compete with other protostars to draw in matter from the entire parent molecular cloud, instead of simply from a small local region . </P>

A rapid and intense period of star formation