Mass Loss
In the discussion of the left panel, the goal is to understand how a large molecular cloud could
fragment into smaller regions and produce stars of around 1 solar mass. However,
we shall present evidence later in this chapter
that very young stars in the process of forming
may have strong winds that eject matter
and clear the region of the nebula from where the star formed.
Thus, we may expect some
amount of mass loss in the final stages of the collapse of a cloud to form a star.
These considerations imply that the initial cloud that collapses to form a star of a given mass
is probably at least somewhat more massive than the final star that forms.