The Milky Way ate another galaxy. Scientists say they've found the scraps
KSL.com • • general
Key Points:
- Astronomers have identified a cluster of ancient, metal-poor stars near the Milky Way's galactic disk, suggesting they are remnants of a dwarf galaxy named Loki that the Milky Way consumed about 10 billion years ago.
- These stars, located roughly 7,000 light-years from Earth, share similar chemical compositions and exhibit both prograde and retrograde orbits, indicating they likely originated from the same accreted dwarf galaxy.
- The discovery challenges current understanding of the Milky Way's formation, implying that significant merger events may have occurred earlier and closer to the galactic disk than previously thought.
- The study utilized data from the European Space Agency's Gaia telescope and the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope to analyze the stars' motions and chemical signatures, supporting the hypothesis of an ancient galactic merger.
- Scientists emphasize that this finding could reshape the narrative of the Milky Way's growth through galactic cannibalism and encourage further research to confirm the existence and impact of the Loki galaxy merger.