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The universe has plenty of hydrogen. So why is star formation collapsing?

Star formation across the universe has fallen dramatically over the past 4.5 billion years, but astronomers have uncovered a surprising twist: the supply of neutral hydrogen, a key ingredient for…

  • Star formation rate has halved over 4.5 billion years.
  • Neutral atomic hydrogen amount barely increased.
  • Gas movement, not hydrogen quantity, may cause star formation decline.

Hubble's superbubble scene

Image: This sprawling cosmic vista and subject of today’s ESA/Hubble Picture of the Month comes from the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC).

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