Milky Way's Oddity Confirmed: Ancient Star Cluster Discovered

A new study submitted to The Astrophysical Journal confirms that the Milky Way is somewhat of an oddball galaxy, having formed its disk much earlier than most other galaxies of similar mass. The study used computer simulations of Milky Way-like galaxies and found that only about 10% of them formed their disks as early as the Milky Way did. Understanding disk galaxy formation is important as most stars in the universe are formed in disk galaxies, which in turn synthesize chemical elements and define the chemical evolution of the universe. However, there is still no consensus on how galactic disks actually form.