The formation of a massive protostar through the disk accretion of gas

The formation of low-mass stars like our Sun can be explained by the gravitational collapse of a molecular cloud fragment into a protostellar core and the subsequent accretion of gas and dust from the surrounding interstellar medium. Theoretical considerations suggest that the radiation pressure from the protostar on the in-falling material may prevent the formation of stars above ten solar masses through this mechanism, although some calculations have claimed that stars up to 40 solar masses can in principle be formed via accretion through a disk. Given this uncertainty and the fact that most massive stars are born in dense clusters, it was suggested that high-mass stars are the result of the runaway merging of intermediate-mass stars. Here we report observations that clearly show a massive star being born from a large rotating accretion disk. The protostar has already assembled about 20 solar masses, and the accretion process is still going on. The gas reservoir of the circumstellar disk contains at least 100 solar masses of additional gas, providing sufficient fuel for substantial further growth of the forming star.