⭐ Stellar Nursery

A (very compressed) game about how massive stars actually get their mass. Built from ~25 years of massive-star-formation theory — not deployed anywhere, just for fun. See MODEL.md for the full reference list.

How much star can you build?

Assemble a hub, collapse a core, then keep the right tool selected as real mechanisms try to feed — or starve — your protostar. Stop and bank your mass whenever you want.

🌟 Normal mode

One star, start to finish.

🌟🌟 Hard mode

Two cores condense from the same hub and grow in parallel. Once both clear the radiation wall, merge them into one much heavier star and keep pushing.

Explain new things as they happen (the astronomer pops in at each new stage/tool — recommended first time)

Welcome! Pick a mode, or read the tutorial first if you want the tools explained before you're under pressure.

Here's everything you'll run into — every tool, and the one big either/or question the field still hasn't settled. ELI5 version here; the links go to the real papers.

The unresolved question

The tools

Each tool mirrors a real proposed mechanism. Hazard tools show which threat they counter. Note: the two radiation-pressure tools (Flashlight Vent, RT Leak) aren't an either/or choice — 3D simulations generally find both happening at once, so both are available together once you reach that stage.

🏆 Leaderboard

Stored in this browser only (localStorage) — nothing is sent anywhere.

Level 0 — Hub-Filament Assembly

Click anywhere in the cloud to seed an overdensity. Filamentary rivers will form automatically, converging on it.

Σ ≈ 0.00 g/cm² · clumps delivered: 0/3

This cloud is still diffuse. Click anywhere to seed a gravitational overdensity — the cloud will organize into filamentary rivers converging on it, the way real hub-filament systems form.

Level 1 — Core Collapse

Core mass building0%

Keep feeding the core with your chosen mechanism before each packet's timer runs out.

⏱ 0:00

Somewhere in a spiral galaxy…

Click somewhere in the galaxy to zoom in ↓

This is a hobby side-project exploring the real literature on massive star formation, with the physics deliberately compressed and gamified — separate from any academic research of mine it might be linked alongside. See MODEL.md for the stage-by-stage model and full reference list.