Astronomers Find 20 Stars Tied to Lost Loki Galaxy Inside the Milky Way
Updated
Updated · VICE · May 9
Astronomers Find 20 Stars Tied to Lost Loki Galaxy Inside the Milky Way
7 articles · Updated · VICE · May 9
A study identified 20 unusual, metal-poor stars in the Milky Way’s galactic plane as possible remnants of a long-lost dwarf galaxy dubbed Loki.
Their chemistry points to extreme age and rapid early evolution: researchers found signatures of supernovae, hypernovae and neutron-star mergers, but no white-dwarf explosion evidence.
That pattern suggests the stars formed in a small system that lived briefly before the Milky Way absorbed it early in its own growth.
Mixed orbital directions among the stars strengthen the merger idea, unusual because most known accreted galaxy debris sits in the Milky Way’s outer halo rather than the galactic plane.
The finding remains unconfirmed, and astronomers say larger datasets will be needed to determine whether Loki is a real galactic fossil or a misread signal.
This galactic fossil could rewrite our cosmic history. What does it reveal about the Milky Way’s violent, early days?
A ghost galaxy hides within our own. How will new telescopes hunt for other cosmic phantoms among the stars?