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.
Overview
- 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.