Understanding star-forming galaxies
Monday, June 5, 2017 - 05:31
in Astronomy & Space
The more stars a typical spiral galaxy contains, the faster it makes new ones. Astronomers call this relatively tight correlation the "galaxy main sequence." The main sequence might be due simply to the fact that galaxies with more stars have more of everything, including material for making new stars. Alternatively, the mechanisms making new stars could be more efficient in some galaxies, or it could be some combination of these and other possibilities.