--- title: Starburst Galaxy Mystifies Astronomers description: A lonely star is producing a hundred more times than that — a frenzy of star creation known as a starburst. canonical: https://time.com/4411413/galaxy-starburst-hubble-space-telescope/ author: Marisa Gertz article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-07-18T21:11:45.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T23:20:19.323Z article:section: Science og:title: A Lonely Galaxy Gives Birth to Hundreds of Stars og:description: The galaxy is forming new stars rapidly, but the cause remains unknown og:url: https://time.com/4411413/galaxy-starburst-hubble-space-telescope/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd42dcc3c4a01774e/69889c613c16396e3945e146/hubble-starburst-galaxy.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: A lonely birthplace og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: A Lonely Galaxy Gives Birth to Hundreds of Stars twitter:description: The galaxy is forming new stars rapidly, but the cause remains unknown twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd42dcc3c4a01774e/69889c613c16396e3945e146/hubble-starburst-galaxy.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # A Lonely Galaxy Gives Birth to Hundreds of Stars by [Marisa Gertz](/author/marisa-gertz/) ## Marisa Gertz Jul 18, 2016 9:11 PM CUT  NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), captured this image of a starburst galaxy named MCG+07-33-027, 300 million light years away. NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), captured this image of a starburst galaxy named MCG+07-33-027, 300 million light years away.N. Grogin—ESA/Hubble/NASA by [Marisa Gertz](/author/marisa-gertz/) ## Marisa Gertz Jul 18, 2016 9:11 PM CUT Normally, galaxies create only a few stars per year, but this one, captured by the [Hubble Space Telescope](http://time.com/3772495/see-hubble-best-photos-25th-anniversary/ "undefined"), is producing a hundred more times than that — a frenzy of star creation known as a [starburst](http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/2016/hubble-spots-a-secluded-starburst-galaxy "undefined"). The galaxy, with the catchy name of MCG+07-33-027, is 300 million light-years away from us but is clearly visible to astronomers due to its busy and bright star forming regions. Parent galaxies form stars out of large reservoirs of gas, which are slowly depleted over time as more stars are born. A starburst, a period of intense [star formation](http://time.com/4385965/hubble-telescope-stellar-fireworks/ "undefined"), usually occurs when one galaxy collides with one of its neighbors. Strangely, this galaxy is isolated and far from any neighbors. If a collision didn’t cause the starburst, then what did? Astronomers are still speculating. As for that bright object to the right, that’s a much closer star in our own [galaxy](http://time.com/4379755/july-4th-space-photography/ "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4411413/galaxy-starburst-hubble-space-telescope/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4411413/galaxy-starburst-hubble-space-telescope/"},"headline":"A Lonely Galaxy Gives Birth to Hundreds of Stars","datePublished":"2016-07-18T21:11:45.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T23:20:19.323Z","description":"The galaxy is forming new stars rapidly, but the cause remains unknown.","url":"https://time.com/4411413/galaxy-starburst-hubble-space-telescope/","keywords":["Space","astronomy","galaxy","NASA","esa"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd42dcc3c4a01774e/69889c613c16396e3945e146/hubble-starburst-galaxy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Marisa Gertz","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/marisa-gertz/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd42dcc3c4a01774e/69889c613c16396e3945e146/hubble-starburst-galaxy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"A lonely birthplace","caption":"A lonely birthplace","creditText":"N. 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