NGC 3310 is a "starburst" galaxy approximately 59 million light-years away, in the direction of Ursa Major. It is a galaxy showing clear evidence of extremely active star formation. Such starburst activity within a galaxy may be triggered by collision with another galaxy.
Until recently, starburst activity was assumed to be a short-lived process, but evidence provided by galaxies such as NGC 3310 indicate that periods of starburst activity may be longer-lived than previously thought. It is clear that the activity was initiated galaxy-wide over 100 million years ago. Some of the star clusters are just over this age. However, some clusters are just 100,000 years old.
