Astronomers say they’ve discovered an unusual monster galaxy. One that existed around 12 billion years in the past.

They call it XMM-2599 and say it formed when the universe was only 1.8 million years old.

Scientists say XMM-2599 formed at a high rate – about 1,000 stars per year – then suddenly died. They say our Milky Way produces about one new star every year.

Science Daily reports that by the time the universe was 2 billion years old, XMM-2599 already had 300 billion suns. It isn’t understood why the monster galaxy suddenly stopped.

Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/02/200205110541.htm