Molecular clouds, such as this portion of the W5 star-forming region in Cassiopeia (shown here in infrared light), are the birthplaces of stars. Although the spin axis of a large cloud may roughly align, as a whole, with the Milky Way’s rotation, local turbulence within tiny regions of the cloud can set a new star spinning in any orientation.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/L. Allen (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA)