The Many Faces of Monster Galaxies
Mark Thompson
Some galaxies in the early universe were absolute powerhouses, churning out stars at rates that would dwarf the Milky Way's modest stellar production. These "monster galaxies," buried deep in dust between 10 and 12 billion years ago, are thought to be the ancestors of today's giant elliptical galaxies. But what drove them to grow so violently has remained frustratingly unclear.
Ryota Ikeda and his colleagues at Japan's National Astronomical Observatory may have just solved the mystery by...