A star's first life stage is called a protostar. The formation starts in a region of space with accumulated gas and dust, called nebulea. The attraction of gravity between the atoms of gas and grains of dust causes a small area of this nebulae to collapse into a smaller, rotating cloud of dust and gas. More material is then drawn in, and the mass at its core increases and the temperature climbs. If the core gets hot enough, it will begin to glow. That is the protostar.