A “fossil galaxy” has been found inside our galaxy.
The discovery of a long-dead galaxy could change our understanding of the galaxy’s history, and how it has become a vast network of stars around us today.
It is believed that fossils known as Heracles collided with the galaxy 10 billion years ago, when our galaxy was still very young.
Spherical halo of a galaxy is almost the third part of his remains, according to researchers. But despite its large scale, astronomers until they could not see it until it could find thousands of stars in detail.
Dr. Richard of the Astrophysics Research Institute at John Moores University in Liverpool. “It’s wonderful to capture the‘ sight ’of the galaxy,” said Ricardo Shiawane.
“It’s really small in terms of the universe – just 100 million stars – but it accounts for about half of the entire galaxy’s halo.”
D Sch. A team of astronomers led by Xiaovan analyzed data from the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (Apoji) project, which has collected large amounts of data on more than half a million stars in the Milky Way.
D Sch. Siavane said: “To find the remnants of a galaxy, we have thousands of stars to see the detailed chemical composition and motion.
“It’s especially hard to do for the stars in the middle of the galaxy, as they are hidden by clouds of dust between the stars.
“Apoji piercing, it lets us see ndanathi dust and galaxy lets you view more than before the heart.”
To distinguish stars connected to Heracles from the original galaxy stars, the team used apogee instruments to measure chemical compositions and the motion of stars.
Danny Horta, a graduate student at Liverpool’s John Moores University, said: “Of the tens of thousands of stars we’ve seen, several hundred have different chemical compositions and velocities.
“These stars are so different that they could only come from another galaxy.
“By studying them in detail, we can find out the exact location and history of this fossil galaxy.”
Based on their findings, the researchers say that the collision between Heracles and the Milky Way must have “become a major event in the history of our galaxy.”
They believe this makes the galaxy unusual because “most similarly large spiral galaxies had very quiet early life”.
D Sch. “As our global home, the galaxy is already special to us, but this buried ancient galaxy makes it even more special,” Shiawan said.
New research is published in Monthly instructions of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Additional reports by the Press Association
