According to Michael A. Seeds, stars start out as protostars that are surrounded by clouds of dust and gasses called a cocoon. These protostars are very large and cannot be seen but can be detected by the infrared radiation that they give off (Foundations of Astronomy 235). They cannot be seen because of the clouds of dust that block and absorb the light being given off by them. However, what keeps a star from collapsing on itself? The answer is very simple, pressure being produced in the core of the young star. Two factors resist collapse of gas clouds according to Seeds "the speed of the hydrogen atom and the turbulence of the hydrogen atom"(Foundations of Astronomy 233). The hydrogen atoms in the core act similarly to the ball in a spray paint can the more you shake it the more the easier the paint applies. Seeds claims that, most stars live billions and billions of years the hotter the star the longer it will live (Horizons 129). This leads me to discuss stellar life.
Well out star has been born, now lets discuss its life. A star does mostly one thing in its lifetime, produces energy and light. It is this energy that keeps us alive, without it our planet would be too cold to live on and with out light there would be no plants to help produce CO2. Heat comes from the energy produced by the sun that is given off through light. The sun gets its energy from nuclear fusion that is caused by the great amount of pressure in its core of hydrogen atoms. This pressure, according to Seeds is, because of gravity that contracts gas clouds. These contractions force the gasses together at unimaginable pressures and temperatures. This generates nuclear energy. It is the balance between pressure and gravity that keeps stars alive (Foundations of Astronomy 225). Stellar life consists of a series of factor pairs: pressure-gravity, heat-light, energy-heat, and friction-pressure. What I mean by this is that you would not have a star without all of these elements working together to oppose pressure and gravity.