WHAT IS A MONSTER GALAXY?
Monster galaxies, also known as starburst galaxies, are thought to be ancestors of massive galaxies like the Milky Way in today's universe.
The ancient objects appeared shortly after the big bang and are characterised by rapid star formation and mass growth, birthing new stars at rates thousands of times above that of our own galaxy.
This leads to small but incredibly dense galaxies that quickly burn through all of their cosmic gas - the 'fuel' used to create new stars.
Once they use up this gas, some within around 100 million years of birth, they become quiescent or 'red and dead' galaxies - common in our universe today.
Scientists hope that studying the mysterious objects will provide answers to key questions about the formation and evolution of modern galaxies, such as the Milky Way.
Monster galaxies, also known as starburst galaxies, are thought to be ancestors of massive galaxies like the Milky Way in today's universe. This image is an artist's impression of ZF-COSMOS-20115, a monster galaxy discovered in 2017
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