Galaxy in early Universe went through 'teenage growth spurt'

Washington, March 22 : Reports indicate that an international team of scientists has found a massive galaxy in the early Universe creating stars like our sun up to 100 times faster than the modern-day Milky Way, which they have described as 'a teenager going through a growth spurt'.

Due to the amount of time it takes light to reach Earth, the scientists observed the galaxy as it would have appeared 10 billion years ago - just three billion years after the Big Bang.

They found four discrete star-forming regions within the galaxy known as SMM J2135-0102.

Each region was more than 100 times brighter than star-forming regions in the Milky Way, such as the Orion Nebula.

The researchers suggested that star formation was more rapid and vigorous in the early Universe as galaxies went through periods of huge growth.

The findings provide a unique insight into how stars formed in the early Universe, the scientists added.

According to lead author Dr Mark Swinbank, in the Institute for Computational Cosmology, at Durham University, "This galaxy is like a teenager going through a growth spurt. If you could see it today as an adult, you'd find the galactic equivalent of the football player Peter Crouch."

"We don't fully understand why the stars are forming so rapidly but our results suggest that stars formed much more efficiently in the early Universe than they do today," he said.

"Galaxies in the early Universe appear to have gone through rapid growth and stars like our sun formed much more quickly than they do today," he added.

The scientists estimate that the observed galaxy is producing stars at a rate equivalent to 250 suns per year.