Milky Way's Last Major Merger Occurred Far More Recently Than Thought

New Gaia data reveals a significant galactic collision took place just three billion years ago, rewriting our understanding of the Milky Way's history.

• ESA's Gaia spacecraft has mapped the motions of over a billion stars, revealing unexpected patterns.
• The study suggests a major merger event happened three billion years ago, not eight to eleven billion years ago as previously believed.
• The collision involved a massive dwarf galaxy, bringing in stars that now exhibit unusual orbits.
• This finding challenges long-held models of the Milky Way's formation and growth.
• Future research will explore the implications of this more recent merger on our galaxy's evolution.

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