Astronomers find Milky Way collided with Loki 10 billion years
Technology
Turns out, our Milky Way had a dramatic moment way back; astronomers found evidence it collided with a smaller galaxy called Loki about 10 billion years ago.
Thanks to some seriously sharp telescope data, scientists now think these ancient mergers may have helped shape the Milky Way into what we see today.
Loki remnants found in Milky Way
When galaxies crash together, they leave behind scattered stars and cosmic leftovers.
The team spotted Loki's remnants near the Milky Way's dense disk, showing this merger was a big deal, kind of like another famous collision called Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus.
Lead author Federico Sestito says Loki was probably one of the building blocks of our galaxy, giving us fresh clues about how everything came together.