Recent Discovery Redefines Milky Way's Collision History

New data from ESA's Gaia telescope reveals our galaxy's last major merger occurred billions of years later than previously believed.

The Milky Way's last significant collision, the Virgo Radial Merger, happened less than 3 billion years ago.
Prior theories dated the last major merger, known as Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus, to between 8 and 11 billion years ago.
Gaia's precise mapping of star positions and motions enabled researchers to identify the newer collision.
This finding challenges existing models of galactic formation and evolution.
The research underscores Gaia's role in transforming our understanding of the cosmos.