Ancient Milky Way Merger

Ancient Milky Way Merger

About 12 billion years ago, a dwarf galaxy known as LKH collided with a young Milky Way and merged with it. This artist’s concept portrays that collision. NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope uncovered definitive evidence of this collision by studying globular star clusters.NASA, ESA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI) This artist’s concept, released on Aug. 17, 2026, depicts a collision between our Milky Way galaxy and a dwarf galaxy known as LKH that happened ab…

Astronomers shocked: Milky Way absorbed LKH galaxy over 11 billion years ago

Astronomers have identified evidence that the Milky Way absorbed an ancient dwarf galaxy known as LKH (Low-Energy-Kraken-Heracles) approximately 11.8 billion years ago. This merger occurred earlier than the previously documented collision with the Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus galaxy, providing a new data point for the timeline of the Milky Way's early growth. The discovery was made by an international team of researchers from the Bologna Observatory. …

Hubble discovers Milky Way's earliest merger

Hubble uncovers a 12-billion-year-old Milky Way merger: LKH dwarf revealed by ancient globular clusters.

Hubble reveals evidence of massive galaxy merger that shaped early Milky Way

NASA said the discovery pushes evidence of a major event in the Milky Way’s growth about 1.8 billion years further back than previously documented.

Astronomers discover a lost galaxy buried in the Milky Way’s ancient star clusters

The Milky Way absorbed a large dwarf galaxy about 12 billion years ago, pushing the known history of major galactic mergers much farther back in time. Hubble observations of ancient star clusters revealed a distinct population that could not have formed in either the early Milky Way or the later Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus merger. The discovery gives astronomers a new way to reconstruct the Milky Way’s earliest growth and may help separate stars born…