Rapid star formation spotted in “stellar nurseries” (11 November
2009) The Universe’s infant galaxies enjoyed rapid growth spurts
forming stars like our sun at a rate of up to 50 stars a year,
according to scientists at Durham University. The findings show
that “stellar nurseries” within the first galaxies gave birth to
stars at a much more rapid rate than previously expected, the
researchers from Durham’s Institute for Computational Cosmology
revealed. The research looked back 12.5 billion years to one of
the most distant known galaxies, about one billion years after
the Big Bang. Using a technique called gravitational lensing –
where distant galaxies are magnified using the gravity of a
nearby galaxy cluster – the scientists observed the rapid bursts
of star formation in the galaxy called MS1358arc. Within the
star-forming regions, new stars were being created at a rate of
about 50 stars per year - around 100 times faster than had been
previously thought. The researchers, who say their work
represents the m