Markarian 231 Extra Quality

This "feedback" process is actively choking the starburst region. As gas is expelled into intergalactic space, the galaxy is rapidly losing the raw material needed to form new stars. Mrk 231 is therefore a living snapshot of a key stage in galaxy evolution: the transition from a star-forming monster to a quiescent, "red and dead" elliptical galaxy.

🛸 Despite its incredible distance, the energy output of Mrk 231 is so high that if it were placed at the center of the Milky Way, it would appear as bright as the Sun in our sky. markarian 231

Surrounding the black hole is a dense ring of molecular gas, spanning about 1,000 light-years. Within this ring, stars are being born at a ferocious rate of roughly . This is a "starburst" region, fueled directly by gas funneled inward by the galactic merger. In contrast, our entire Milky Way galaxy produces only about 1 to 2 new stars per year. This "feedback" process is actively choking the starburst