Milky Way’s ancient 90-degree flip reshaped its halo
TL;DR Summary
New Gaia measurements and computer simulations show the Milky Way’s halo rotates more slowly than its disk, likely because the galaxy underwent ancient head-on mergers and a dramatic disk flip that reoriented the disk by about 90 degrees. This misalignment slows halo rotation and could have shifted the solar system’s orbit, though the exact mechanism remains under investigation.
- Our Milky Way galaxy appears to have flipped 90 degrees long ago. But why? Space
- Milky Way flipped in collision with dwarf galaxy 10bn years ago, astronomers say The Guardian
- The Milky Way Flipped its Disk Billions of Years Ago Universe Today
- Cosmic gymnastics: How the Milky Way once underwent a dramatic flip Phys.org
- 🌌 A collision may have flipped the Milky Way Techno-Science
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