Irvine, Calif., May 20, 2010 – For more than a decade, astronomers have been puzzled by bright galaxies in the distant universe that appear to be forming stars at phenomenal rates. What prompted the prolific star creation, they wondered. And what kind of spatial environment did these galaxies inhabit?
Now, using a super-sensitive camera/spectrometer on the Herschel Space Observatory, astronomers – including a UC Irvine team led by Asantha Cooray – have mapped the skies as they appeared 10 billion years ago.