It takes a very long time for a star to be born and start shining. The process can take anywhere from tens of thousands to millions of years depending on the size and mass of the star.

Here's a breakdown of the process:

1. Dust and Gas Cloud: Stars are born from giant clouds of dust and gas called nebulae. These clouds are mostly hydrogen and helium.

2. Gravitational Collapse: Over time, the particles within the cloud begin to attract each other due to gravity. This causes the cloud to collapse inward.

3. Protostar Formation: As the cloud collapses, it heats up. Eventually, a dense core forms called a protostar. This protostar is not yet a star, but it's getting closer.

4. Nuclear Fusion: The protostar continues to contract and heat up until it reaches a critical point where nuclear fusion begins in its core. This is the process where hydrogen atoms fuse together to form helium, releasing enormous amounts of energy.

5. Star Birth: Once nuclear fusion starts, the protostar becomes a true star, and it begins to shine brightly in the night sky.

Here's a rough timeline:

* Collapse: Tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of years.

* Protostar Stage: Hundreds of thousands to millions of years.

* Nuclear Fusion Ignition: A few million years.

So, while the process of star birth may seem fast on human timescales, it's actually a very long and complex process that unfolds over millions of years.