Andrew Griffin@_andrew_griffin8 hours
A “fossil galaxy” has been found hidden inside of our Milky Way.
The discovery of the long-dead galaxy could change our understanding of the history of the Milky Way, and how it became the vast web of stars that surrounds us today.
The fossil, known as Heracles, is thought to have collided with the Milky Way 10 billion years ago, when our galaxy was still at a very young age.
Its remnants make up about a third of Milky Way’s spherical halo, researchers report. But despite its vast scale, astronomers were not able to see it until they uncovered detailed information about tens of thousands of stars.
Dr Ricardo Schiavon, of Liverpool John Moores University’s Astrophysics Research Institute, said: “To ‘catch sight’ of that galaxy is awesome.
“It…
View original post 335 more words
Exposing the Big Game 