New discovery helps decode many mysteries about the early days of the Milky Way

Researchers at Germany's Max Planck Institute for Astronomy have identified 'strong candidates' that could be evidence of the early days of the Milky Way. The results have been published in the Astrophysical Journal.

Named "Shakti" and "Shiva" , these two new structures announced by scientists appear to be the remnants of two galaxies that merged with the first version of the Milky Way between 12 and 13 billion years ago. years ago, directly participating in the early stages of the Milky Way's development.

"Shakti" and "Shiva" appear to be the remnants of two galaxies that merged with an early version of the Milky Way 12 to 13 billion years ago. (Photo: NASA).

According to the authors, the results of this study can be understood as archaeologists on the ground identifying traces of an early settlement that developed into a major city today.

Until now, it was not possible to determine which star came from which progenitor galaxy after the collision of galaxies. However, according to the institute, most stars retain basic properties , 'which are directly related to the speed and place of origin of the galaxy' . Using "fundamental physics", researchers have found large constellations with unusual and comparable values ​​of energy and angular momentum - momentum associated with orbital motion or rotation. This suggests there may be remnants of a consolidation process. The very low metal content of the stars supports the hypothesis that they existed at the beginning of the Milky Way.

Thanks to the European Space Agency's Gaia Astronomical Satellite, researchers have obtained a "large and high-quality data set," the Max Planck Institute said. Deployed in 2013, the satellite is considered to 'revolutionize' the study of the dynamics of stars in the Milky Way, producing increasingly precise data sets including location, the change in position and distance of nearly 1.5 billion stars.

Now, researchers have identified the two structures above by combining data from the Gaia satellite with stellar spectra from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey station, providing detailed information about their composition. Chemistry of stars. Researchers believe that conducting new surveys will provide more relevant data.

According to the institute, if both the exact spectrum and distance are known, astronomers will be able to conclude with certainty whether Shakti and Shiva are indeed structures that open up the first insights into prehistoric times. Early history of the Milky Way or not.