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Newly Discovered Young Galaxy Creates 4,000 Stars Per Year

Posted by Soulskill on from the needs-a-galactic-prophylactic dept.

Astronomers using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope have found a galaxy producing an average of up to 4,000 stars per year. They contrast this with the Milky Way, which only produces an average of 10 each year. Nicknamed "Baby Boom," it is a young starburst galaxy, and its stellar birth rate conflicts with a commonly accepted model for the growth of a galaxy. Quoting: "'The question now is whether the majority of the very most massive galaxies form very early in the universe like the Baby Boom galaxy, or whether this is an exceptional case. Answering this question will help us determine to what degree the Hierarchical Model of galaxy formation still holds true,' [said Peter Capak of NASA's Spitzer Science Center] 'The incredible star-formation activity we have observed suggests that we may be witnessing, for the first time, the formation of one of the most massive elliptical galaxies in the universe,' said co-author Nick Scoville of Caltech, the principal investigator of the Cosmic Evolution Survey,

5 of 81 comments (clear)

  1. For what value of 'year'? by Kligat · · Score: 5, Interesting

    If general relativity says that a clock ticks faster the deeper it is in a gravity well, and at the beginning of the universe all that matter was closer together, maybe time just flew faster for star formation. Was the value of "year" used in the article, to put a new spin on an old phrase, adjusted for inflation?

  2. Gravity well between earth and distant galaxy. by aXi · · Score: 2, Interesting

    maybe there are several gravity wells between our galaxy and the other one that accelerates light at such a pace that we are seeing the whole history of that galaxy at once.
    Wasn't there a post here recently that spoke of the speed of light having been faster in the past? Which would mean that the maximum speed of light is not a constant, and can thus be accelerated.

    1. Re:Gravity well between earth and distant galaxy. by Gazzonyx · · Score: 3, Interesting

      IIRC, that model works like quantum tunneling and would require the speed of light to drop everywhere in the universe at the same moment without decelerating to the lower velocity. I think I read somewhere that if that happened, (and IMHO the model makes a lot of sense, but I don't care one way or the other) you wouldn't be able to see it, since everything slows down relative to everything else. However, you could see the difference if you compared the speed of light to previously known values.

      As an aside, I have read in a few different places that there is some evidence that the speed of light is exponentially decaying.

      --

      If I mod you up, it doesn't necessarily mean I agree with what you've said, sorry.

  3. Re:Clearly.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    So using Mormon as the subject of a joke will get a -1 Troll while the same joke with Mexican get a +4 Funny?

  4. Re:Clearly.... by Ethanol-fueled · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I posted it expecting to be modded -1 troll: real men aren't afraid to lose karma. The mods stuck it to me this time, eh? As for your call to mod me down, well, I think those points would be better spent modding up the mormon-joke-guy. I'm partially hispanic. Could you please learn to take a fucking joke while I buy some condoms(I prefer Trojan large in the green package, usually only sold at convenience stores)?

    Another sure-fire way to get modded up on /. is to begin your posts with, "I know I'll be modded down for this, but..."

    Works like a charm! Don't cry because you ain't got points!