Researchers say a particular galaxy called the Sculptor Galaxy can provide clues as to what causes starburst galaxies to have an extra "burst".

This galaxy known as NGC 253 is one of the closest starburst galaxies near the Milky Way and is about 11 million light years away from our planet.

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Starburst galaxies are unique since they churn out stars at a rapid rate 1,000 times faster than any family of stars found in the Milky Way. The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile detected this star system and produced images from stellar nurseries inside the core of the Sculptor Galaxy.

According to Adam Leroy from Ohio State University, stars are normally formed via dense clouds of dust and gas. But scientists are still trying to figure out what kind of intense interstellar activity occurring inside starburst galaxies make them unique from other galaxies.

Massive, dense clouds of carbon monoxide were found in the region of NGC 253 where stars are born. Astronomers discovered different concentrations and some 40 different components in 10 regions inside this core of the galaxy.

These types of cloud formations offered clues that allow scientists to better understand how the galaxy was formed and what kind of conditions cause this highly active stellar formation to proliferate. The areas with the greatest star formation rate are those thought to be 10 times denser, hotter and more chaotic than similar clouds found in the Milky Way.

These dense regions are conducive for the high birth rate of stars as this type of galaxy makes starburst galaxies in a class of their own. They also contain different densities and chemical compositions compared to other galaxies.

Leroy adds that these starburst galaxies possess gas that's more effective in producing new stars. His team pulled apart the regions layer by layer to distinguish the gases that are efficient in star making.

Discovered in 1783 by astronomer Caroline Herschel, the Sculptor Galaxy is classified under disk shaped families of stars. Hubble focused on this object in 1998.

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