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<ul><li>Scientists always knew that the <keyword id="67503" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="milky-way">Milky Way</keyword>, in its early days, ate up another galaxy. </li><li>A new study published in Nature has been able to pinpoint exactly when the collision occurred. </li><li>By studying a star, scientists were able to determine that, our <keyword id="8560786" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="home-galaxy">home galaxy</keyword> gobbled up a dwarf galaxy, <keyword id="8560784" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="gaia-enceladus">Gaia Enceladus</keyword>, between 11.6 to 13.2 billion years ago. </li></ul>Just like Hungry Hungry Hippos gobbles up anything that gets in its way, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/our-very-own-black-hole-in-the-milky-way-doesnt-quite-eat-up-everything/articleshow/69684893.cms">the Milky Way</a> gobbled up another galaxy in its early days — Gaia Enceladus. When this discovery was made last year, the scientists only knew that whatever had happened, happened over 10 billion years ago. In order to know exactly how it may have affected our galaxy, they needed an exact date. It could even be a piece in the age-old puzzle of scientists trying to figure out how the Milky Way got its <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/milky-way-galaxys-survival-may-depend-on-gas-giving-birth-to-new-stars/articleshow/73148565.cms">warped and twisty shape</a>. And, now they have one. By studying the star, v Indi, a team of researchers were able to pinpoint when the collision occurred. The study published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-019-0975-9">Nature</a> suggests that v Indi was already a part of the Milky Way before the collision. Therefore, the star’s age and mass measurements indicate that galactic cannibalism happened somewhere between 11.6 to 13.2 billion years ago. Using a star to find explosions in the past Using asteroseismology — the study of how stars in the universe glow and ebb — researchers were able to determine that the star, v Indi was approximately 11 billion years old. Therefore, from the early days of the Milky Way. "Similar to the way seismic waves on Earth allow conclusions about the interior of our planet, stellar oscillations help us to reveal the internal structure and composition of the star and thus its age," explains Nathalie Themessl, co-author of the study. In addition, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) indicated that v Indi is located in the region of space where the Milky Way ate up Gaia-Enceladus. "Since the motion of ν Indi was affected by the Gaia-Enceladus collision, the collision must have happened once the star had formed," said <a href="https://www.mps.mpg.de/merger-of-milky-way-with-dwarf-galaxy-dated">Bill Chaplin</a>, lead author of the study published in Nature. Milky Way’s neighbour, the Andromeda galaxy, is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/heres-what-will-happen-to-earth-when-our-galaxy-collides-with-the-andromeda-galaxy/amp_articleshow/46192363.cms">another collision waiting to happen</a>. According to NASA, both galaxies will collide at a speed of 402,336 kph, 3.75 billion years down the line. Earth will survive — but its skies will be changed forever. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/milky-way-galaxys-survival-may-depend-on-gas-giving-birth-to-new-stars/articleshow/73148565.cms">New stars running from the death of their own galaxies means our Milky Way might survive</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/bubbles-filled-with-thousands-of-stars-found-in-the-milky-way/articleshow/71385825.cms">Bubbles filled with thousands of stars found in the Milky Way</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/milky-ways-neighbour-galaxy-not-dead-with-young-blue-stars-at-its-center/articleshow/71269866.cms">Milky Way's neighbour might not be so ‘dead’ with young stars brewing at its center</a>

The Milky Way gobbled up another galaxy 11.5 billion years ago — and it could provide clues to why the galaxy is twisted up in a spiral shape

<ul><li>New data collected by the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Gaia satellite shows that not only is the Milky Way warped, but its shape is shifting. </li><li>The speed of the change indicates that the Milky Way’s twisted and warped shape may be the result of an ongoing collision. </li><li>Astronomers do not know which galaxy is colliding with the Milky Way, however, Sagittarius is a likely candidate. </li></ul>Just like the Earth was once thought to be flat, so was the Milky Way. However, a new 3D map of the galaxy shows otherwise. While being spiral in shape, the galaxy’s disk is a warped and twisted shape. New data from the European Space Agency’s (<a href="http://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Gaia/Milky_Way_s_warp_caused_by_galactic_collision_Gaia_suggests">ESA</a>) Gaia satellite now shows that the even that warped shape isn’t static — it’s on the move. The constant change should mean that the Milky Way in the midst of a collision with another galaxy, especially because the data shows that the Milky Way is changing shape much faster than expected. <div type="image" title="milkyway" msid="74451160" hostid="261"></div>
 Astronomers have dubbed this phenomenon as "precession” comparing it to the wobble of a spinning top as it rotates. "Based on the obtained velocity, the warp would complete one rotation around the centre of the Milky Way in 600 to 700 million years,” said the lead author of the study published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-020-1017-3">Nature Astronomy</a>, <a href="http://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Gaia/Milky_Way_s_warp_caused_by_galactic_collision_Gaia_suggests">Eloisa Poggio</a>. The most likely candidate While astronomers believe that the most likely reason for the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/our-very-own-black-hole-in-the-milky-way-doesnt-quite-eat-up-everything/articleshow/69684893.cms">Milky Way</a> changing shape in an ongoing collision with another galaxy, they have no idea which one. The most likely candidate is Sagittarius, a dwarf galaxy that is in orbit around the Milky Way. Previous studies indicate that Sagittarius, being the smaller galaxy, will eventually be absorbed by the Milky Way. A process that many believe is already underway. The Milky Way is no stranger to cannibalism. A study published in January found evidence of the galaxy having gobbled up <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/the-milky-way-gobbled-up-another-galaxy-11-5-billion-years-ago-and-it-could-provide-clues-to-why-the-galaxy-is-twisted-up-in-a-spiral-shape/articleshow/73238020.cms">Gaia Enceladus</a>, a dwarf galaxy, between 11.6 to 13.2 billion years ago. <div type="image" title="The_Milky_Way_s_Warp" msid="74451167" hostid="261"></div>

 Even though the Milky Way might be in the middle of a merger, it’s no cause to panic. While an ongoing collision is an impressive feat on the galactic scale, it’s unlikely to have any impact on life on Earth. "The Sun is at a distance of 26,000 light-years from the galactic centre where the amplitude of the warp is very small,” said Poggio. A better understanding of the Milky Way’s shape can help astronomers understand how it evolved over time. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/astronomers-accidentally-discover-a-new-galaxy-with-as-many-stars-as-the-milky-way/articleshow/71715185.cms">Astronomers ‘accidentally’ discover a new galaxy with as many stars as the Milky Way</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/the-milky-way-gobbled-up-another-galaxy-11-5-billion-years-ago-and-it-could-provide-clues-to-why-the-galaxy-is-twisted-up-in-a-spiral-shape/articleshow/73238020.cms">The Milky Way gobbled up another galaxy 11.5 billion years ago — and it could provide clues to why the galaxy is twisted up in a spiral shape</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/The-worst-storms-on-Earth-are-nothing-compared-to-the-weather-on-other-planets/articleshow/66537971.cms?utm_source=ten_minutes_with&amp;utm_medium=Referral&amp;utm_campaign=Content_Patnership">The worst storms on Earth are nothing compared to the weather on other planets</a>

3D map of the Milky Way shows its twisted warped shape is changing — and it could be because of an ongoing collision

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The Milky Way gobbled up another galaxy 11.5 billion years ago — and it could provide clues to why the galaxy is twisted up in a spiral shape

Prabhjote Gill

3D map of the Milky Way shows its twisted warped shape is changing — and it could be because of an ongoing collision

Prabhjote Gill

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