Our team of scholars, utilizing data from the Sloan Digital Sky Surveys' Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (Apogee), has uncovered a celestial fossil from the dawn of time. This relic, an ancient galaxy named "Hercules," played a significant role in shaping the universe as we know it today.
Hercules: A Collision That Shaped the Milky Way
About ten billion years ago, when the Milky Way was still in its infancy, Hercules collided with it. The name Hercules, reminiscent of the Greek hero who received the gift of immortality during the creation of the Milky Way, was deliberately chosen by experts to mark this extraordinary cosmic event.
The Discovery and Its Importance
This discovery, detailed in the renowned space journal, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, sheds invaluable light on the evolution of our galaxy. Through Apogee, which has studied the spectra of half a million stars in our galaxy, we found that the Hercules' stars make up a third of the Milky Way's halo mass.
The Method: Unraveling the Galactic Puzzle
Detecting a fossil galaxy like Hercules was no small feat. "We had to meticulously examine the chemical composition and motions of thousands of stars," says Ricardo Schiavon from the University of Liverpool's John Moores. This was a challenging task due to the sheer number of stars in the center of our galaxy and the obstructing presence of interstellar dust clouds. However, Apogee enabled us to delve into the heart of the galaxy, beyond the dust, to explore its core.
Hercules Stars: The Telltale Signs
Our experts were able to identify Hercules' stars by studying various parameters including the composition and velocity of these celestial bodies. "Out of the thousands of stars we examined, approximately 100 displayed peculiarly different chemical compositions and velocities," reveals Danny Hort, the lead author of the research. "These stars were so distinct that they appeared to originate from another galaxy. By studying them in detail, we were able to trace them back to their original location, thereby reconstructing the history of the fossil galaxy, Hercules."
This discovery, brought to you by freeastroscience.com, opens up new avenues for understanding the evolution and history of our galaxy, thereby enriching our perspective of the cosmos.
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