Ancient Milky Way merger revealed by globular-cluster fossils
TL;DR Summary
A Nature Astronomy study uses precise ages and metallicities of Milky Way globular clusters to reconstruct the Galaxy’s early growth, revealing three distinct age–metallicity tracks and an ancient major merger (progenitor Low-energy–Kraken–Heracles) about 12 billion years ago with roughly 500 million solar masses, depositing most material in the inner Milky Way. This refines the Milky Way’s formative timeline and complements JWST views of distant galaxies by tying together fossil stars and early-universe observations.
Topics:science#astronomy#early-universe#gaia-sausage-enceladus#galactic-mergers#globular-clusters#milky-way
- Galactic archaeologists find stars in the Milky Way came from another galaxy 12 billion years ago The Conversation
- How an ancient collision with another galaxy transformed the Milky Way Space
- Evidence of a massive accretion event 1.8 billion years before the Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus merger Nature
- Two giant clashes made the Milky Way the massive galaxy it is today ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation
- Hubble Discovers That the Milky Way Devoured the Dwarf Galaxy Kraken-Heracles 11.8 Billion Years Ago La Brújula Verde
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