#MilkYway

Astronomers have identified a group of ancient stars that may be the remnants of a dwarf galaxy named Loki that merged with the Milky Way more than 10 billion years ago.

A new study suggests the Milky Way consumed an ancient dwarf galaxy billions of years ago, and its stellar remains may still be embedded within ours.

Without our satellite, Earth’s geology, biology, and climate — even human philosophy — would be vastly different.

When the gravity of a foreground object distorts and magnifies light from the background, the images surround the object responsible for the lensing.

Astronomers have located the edge of the Milky Way’s star-forming disk, showing that it extends 40,000 light-years out from the center.