Ancient galaxy is forming 1,000 times more stars than Milky Way [View all]

[Judi Lynn]

High levels of gas within the galaxy are triggering runaway star formation.
By Laurel Kornfeld | Sep 02, 2018

A 12.4-billion year old starburst galaxy is forming stars 1,000 times faster than the Milky Way, according to a team of scientists who studied it using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) radio telescope in Chile.

The researchers found molecular clouds within the huge galaxy, designated COSMOS-AzTEC-1, to be very unstable, a condition that causes runaway star formation. Dense gas clumps within the galaxy are so concentrated that they are rapidly collapsing and forming stars. At this rate, the clouds may be completely gone within 100 million years.

Typically, molecular clouds in galaxies are kept stable by outward pressure from star formation and supernova explosions of dying massive stars. The clouds collapse and form stars when their gravity overcomes this pressure. New stars and supernova explosions then increase the pressure in what becomes a stable cycle, with moderate star-formation rates.

COSMOS-AzTEC-1's pressure is much weaker than its gravity, resulting in runaway star formation.

More:
https://thespacereporter.com/article.php?n=ancient-galaxy-is-forming-1000-times-more-stars-than-milky-way&id=164809


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