The galaxy 'died young' 12 billion years ago

The "monster" galaxy XMM-2599 produces hundreds of billions of stars at breakneck speeds but only exists for a short time.

Scientists were confused when they discovered galaxy XMM-2599 with many unusual features, Independent reported on 6/2. "Before the universe was two years old, XMM-2599 produced more than 300 billion times the mass of the Sun and became a supermass galaxy. Notably, most stars formed very urgently, when the universe less than a billion years old. After that, XMM-2599 stopped working, " said Benjamin Forrest, lead author of the study.

During its peak, XMM-2599 created new stars with the mass equivalent to more than 1,000 times the Sun each year. This is very fast speed for the galaxy. The Milky Way produces only about one star per year.

The Milky Way produces about one new star every year.(Photo: Tech Explorist).

The team of scientists could not explain the process that this galaxy formed and quickly died. XMM-2599 challenges current models of the early universe and could bring new information about the birth of stars.

"During this period, very few galaxies stopped producing new stars, neither was there a large galaxy like XMM-2599. The existence of a supermassive galaxy like XMM-2599 is challenging for models. analysis, " said Gillian Wilson, a professor of astrophysics at the University of California, Riverside. According to the analytical model, large galaxies at this stage are actively creating more stars.

"What makes XMM-2599 so interesting, unusual and incredible is that it is no longer creating new stars, perhaps because it stops getting fuel or its black holes start working," Wilson added.

XMM-2599 is so far away from Earth that scientists have been observing this galaxy from a very young age. By now, XMM-2599 may have been completely different."We detected XMM-2599 at the time of the shutdown. We do not know how it became today. XMM-2599 cannot be reduced in mass. Will over time, it attract galaxies? create a nearby star with gravity and then become a cluster of glowing galaxies? " , Wilson asked.

The team plans to use high-tech equipment at the Keck Observatory to understand more about XMM-2599."We consider the XMM-2599 to be an interesting visual-only object. With the Keck Observatory, we can study the characteristics more closely, determine its nature, thereby understanding more about it. show monster galaxies forming and then dying , " said Marianna Annunziatella, a researcher at Tufts University.

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