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FOR KIDS: Super star-maker
A distant galaxy cluster churns out stars at a whopping rate
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A distant galaxy cluster churns out stars at a whopping rate

By Stephen Ornes

Web edition: September 4, 2012

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This artist’s drawing shows what the central galaxy of the Phoenix cluster might look like. The small blue dots represent new stars forming.
NASA

The recently discovered Phoenix cluster is a big deal. About 6 billion light-years away, it’s home to thousands of galaxies and a huge black hole. Phoenix also is the fastest known star-making factory, a new study finds.

One would expect this cluster to produce fewer than one star per year. Instead “it’s producing 740,” observes MIT astrophysicist Michael McDonald.

Visit the new Science News for Kids website and read the full story: Super star-maker

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N. Drake. Giant cluster phenomenally fertile. Science News Online, August 16, 2012. [Go to]

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