HFLS3 is evidence that extremely intense bursts of star formation were present only 880 million years after the Big Bang
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A group of astronomers has discovered the “most prolific star factory in the Universe.” The star factory is in a galaxy so far away that the astronomers see it as it was when the Universe was only six percent of its current age.
According to a news release from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, the galaxy, called HFLS3, is located approximately 12.8 billion light years from Earth and is generating the equivalent of approximately 3,000 Sun annually. This is a rate that is more than 2,000 times that of our Milky Way galaxy. HFLS3 produces an extraordinary amount of stars by drawing from a very large reservoir of gas.
According to Dominik Riechers of Cornell University, obtaining data on galaxies like HFLS3 is extremely important to learning how galaxies formed in the Universe’s youth.
Data from 12 international telescopes was needed to help calculate the galaxy’s distance from Earth, as well as its characteristics. Astronomers used visible-light, infrared, millimeter-wave and radio telescopes.
According to a news release from the California Institute of Technology, because HFLS3 is concealed in dust, it’s extremely faint in visible light. The galaxy’s stars, however, warm up the dust, making it radiate in infrared wavelengths.
The group of astronomers discovered that HFLS3 has a mass of stars about 40 billion times the mass of the Sun, and gas and dust adding up to more than 100 billion times the mass of the Sun. They also found that the stars are encircled by enough dark matter to eventually create an entire cluster of galaxies.
According to Riechers, HFLS3 is evidence that extremely intense bursts of star formation were present only 880 million years after the Big Bang.
Chris Carilli, Chief Scientists of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, said that the methods utilized by this group of researchers, in addition to advanced technical capabilities available now and in the near future, will help astronomers learn more about such star factories, and offer a clearer picture of how the first galaxies formed in the early years of the Universe.
.
A group of astronomers has discovered the “most prolific star factory in the Universe.” The star factory is in a galaxy so far away that the astronomers see it as it was when the Universe was only six percent of its current age.
According to a news release from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, the galaxy, called HFLS3, is located approximately 12.8 billion light years from Earth and is generating the equivalent of approximately 3,000 Sun annually. This is a rate that is more than 2,000 times that of our Milky Way galaxy. HFLS3 produces an extraordinary amount of stars by drawing from a very large reservoir of gas.
According to Dominik Riechers of Cornell University, obtaining data on galaxies like HFLS3 is extremely important to learning how galaxies formed in the Universe’s youth.
Data from 12 international telescopes was needed to help calculate the galaxy’s distance from Earth, as well as its characteristics. Astronomers used visible-light, infrared, millimeter-wave and radio telescopes.
According to a news release from the California Institute of Technology, because HFLS3 is concealed in dust, it’s extremely faint in visible light. The galaxy’s stars, however, warm up the dust, making it radiate in infrared wavelengths.
The group of astronomers discovered that HFLS3 has a mass of stars about 40 billion times the mass of the Sun, and gas and dust adding up to more than 100 billion times the mass of the Sun. They also found that the stars are encircled by enough dark matter to eventually create an entire cluster of galaxies.
According to Riechers, HFLS3 is evidence that extremely intense bursts of star formation were present only 880 million years after the Big Bang.
Chris Carilli, Chief Scientists of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, said that the methods utilized by this group of researchers, in addition to advanced technical capabilities available now and in the near future, will help astronomers learn more about such star factories, and offer a clearer picture of how the first galaxies formed in the early years of the Universe.
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