Occurs when a massive body collapses under its own weight. For example, interstellar clouds collapse to become stars until the onset of nuclear fusion stops the collapse.
the collapse of a molecular cloud core due to its own self-gravity overwhelming all sources of internal supporting forces (such as thermal pressure, magnetic fields, and turbulent pressure). Collapse of the gas results in the formation of a star.
When a massive object collapses under its own weight.
Gravitational collapse in astronomy is the inward fall of a massive body under the influence of the force of gravity. It occurs when all other forces fail to supply a sufficiently high pressure to counterbalance gravity and keep the massive body in (dynamical) equilibrium. Gravitational collapse is at the heart of the structure formation in the universe.