HFLS3

This artist's impression shows the "starburst" galaxy HFLS3. The galaxy appears as little more than a faint, red smudge in images from the Herschel space observatory. But appearances can be deceiving for it is making stars more than 2,000 times faster than our own Milky Way galaxy, one of the highest star-formation rates ever seen in any galaxy. Amazingly, it is seen at a time when the universe was less than a billion years old, challenging galaxy evolution theories.

Illustration credit: ESA–C. Carreau

Note: For more information, see Astronomers Discover Massive Star Factory in Early Universe and Star Factory in the Early Universe Challenges Galaxy Evolution Theory.