Astronomers using Nasa's Chandra X-Ray telescope have spotted a gigantic distant galaxy that creates about 740 new stars a year.
Astonishingly, the giant galaxy creates more stars in a day than the Milky Way does in a year.
It rests about 5.7 billion light years away and is in the centre of a recently discovered cluster of galaxies that give the brightest X-ray glow astronomers have ever seen.
It is by far the biggest creation of stars that astronomers have found for this type of galaxy - massive galaxies that are in the centre of clusters.
For its size, type and age, the galaxy should not be producing stars at such a rapid pace, according to the authors of a study published in the journal Nature.
"It's very extreme," said Harvard University astronomer Ryan Foley, co-author of the study. "It pushes the boundaries of what we understand."
The galaxy is also fairly mature, and could be up to six billion years old.
Usually, these types of galaxies are "just there and don't do anything new ... what we call red and dead," said study lead author Michael McDonald of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
"(But) it seems to have come back to life for some reason," he added.
The team of 85 astronomers has nicknamed the galaxy cluster Phoenix, after the bird that rises from the ashes.
Yahoo
Astonishingly, the giant galaxy creates more stars in a day than the Milky Way does in a year.
It rests about 5.7 billion light years away and is in the centre of a recently discovered cluster of galaxies that give the brightest X-ray glow astronomers have ever seen.
It is by far the biggest creation of stars that astronomers have found for this type of galaxy - massive galaxies that are in the centre of clusters.
For its size, type and age, the galaxy should not be producing stars at such a rapid pace, according to the authors of a study published in the journal Nature.
"It's very extreme," said Harvard University astronomer Ryan Foley, co-author of the study. "It pushes the boundaries of what we understand."
The galaxy is also fairly mature, and could be up to six billion years old.
Usually, these types of galaxies are "just there and don't do anything new ... what we call red and dead," said study lead author Michael McDonald of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
"(But) it seems to have come back to life for some reason," he added.
The team of 85 astronomers has nicknamed the galaxy cluster Phoenix, after the bird that rises from the ashes.
Yahoo
