red dwarfs are small stars that are around 0.2 solar mass (the sun is equal to 1 solar mass). this is small for a star but is still 60,000 times the mass of the earth. they are formed in nebulas, as all stars are, and originally they were protostars. they start their nuclear fusion about 100,000 years after being formed. this gives them their red glow. these stars burn at less than 4,000°k.