Some astronomers have suggested that they formed suddenly out of collapsing gas clouds, but most suspect that the supermassive black holes grew after their initial formation. (newscientist.com)
Because the Universe originally lacked metals (elements heavier than lithium) that cool collapsing gas clouds today, the earliest stars were more massive and burned much hotter than even the largest stars we study today. (tmt.org)
This image from Hubble has plucked out an underlying population of infant stars embedded in the nebula NGC 346 that are still forming from gravitationally collapsing gas clouds. (spaceref.com)