Milky Way-like galaxies seen in their awkward adolescent years

Milky Way-like galaxies seen in their awkward adolescent years 12/27/2016 11:46 AM EST Spiral galaxies, like our own Milky Way, were not always the well-ordered, pinwheel-like structures we see today. Astronomers using the NSF-funded Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have found evidence of this less orderly state from about 8-10 billion years ago. Progenitors of the Milky Way and similar spiral galaxies were less organized but amazingly rich in star-forming material, so they churned out new stars faster than at any other point in their lifetimes. Full story at https://public.nrao.edu/news/pressreleases/2016-alma-milky-way-like Source National Radio Astronomy Observatory This is an NSF News From the Field item. This e-mail update was generated automatically based on your subscription to the category listed above. Some updates may belong to more than one category, resulting in duplicate messages.   Follow NSF:  This email was sent to mantiskhiralla@gmail.com using GovDelivery, on behalf of: National Science Foundation Update · 4201 Wilson Boulevard · Arlington, VA 22230 · 703-292-5111