Unveiling Shakti and Shiva: Ancient Building Blocks of the Milky Way
Astronomers have identified two of the Milky Way's earliest building blocks, named Shakti and Shiva, which are remnants of galaxies that merged with an early version of the Milky Way between 12 and 13 billion years ago. By combining data from ESA's Gaia mission and the SDSS survey, researchers were able to identify these proto-galactic fragments, shedding light on the early history of our home galaxy and its formation through the merging of smaller galaxies. The discovery provides insight into the origins of stars and the dynamics of galaxy formation, with the potential for additional data from ongoing and upcoming surveys to further confirm these findings.
- Ancient Architects of the Milky Way: The Discovery of Shakti and Shiva SciTechDaily
- Scientists identify Milky Way's ancient building blocks Shakti and Shiva Reuters
- 13 billion-year-old 'streams of stars' discovered near Milky Way's center may be earliest building blocks of our galaxy Livescience.com
- Earliest building blocks of the Milky Way discovered near its galactic heart CNN
- Gaia unravels the ancient threads of the Milky Way European Space Agency
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