The original Milky Way galaxy was destroyed.

A catastrophic event 11 billion years ago changed our Milky Way galaxy forever, according to a new study.

A study recently published in the scientific journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society indicates that the primordial disk of the Milky Way galaxy, where Earth resides, was actually destroyed 11 billion years ago.

The work was carried out by Dr. Matthew Orkney from the University of Barcelona and the Catalonia Space Research Institute (Spain) and Dr. Chervin Laporte of the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS).

The Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus (GSE) merger was so violent that it destroyed the Milky Way's primordial disk and completely reshaped its history. (Graphic: NASA)

According to According to Sci-News , the galactic disk is a giant, rotating structure of stars and gas, with bright, spiral arms extending from its center.

Most of the stars in the Milky Way galaxy—including the Sun—are located within this disk, rotating through space at speeds exceeding 220 km/second.

For decades, astronomers have been trying to pinpoint the exact moment this giant rotating structure first appeared.

"The key clue lies in the movement and age of the stars: At some point in the Milky Way's early history, the stars began to move in a regular rotational pattern, marking a point in the Milky Way's rotational acceleration," the authors explain.

However, the Milky Way doesn't develop in isolation. It's a "Frankenstein's monster" of the universe.

Some recent scientific evidence suggests that throughout its history, the Milky Way has merged with around 20 other galaxies to achieve its current structure and size.

Data from the European Space Agency's (ESA) Gaia mission in 2018 revealed a massive collision believed to have occurred approximately 10 billion years ago, known as the Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus merger (GSE).

In the new study, the authors ran simulations to gain a clearer understanding of this crucial early collision.

New data suggests the GSE merger event may have occurred much earlier, as far back as 11 billion years ago, and was so devastating that it destroyed the Milky Way's primordial stellar disk, completely reshaping it.

But that's also good news, because the collision itself gave the galaxy a leap in evolution.

"Models of the GSE merger predict that a 'galactic fireworks' display will occur after the collision, spurring star formation and facilitating the formation of globular clusters," said Dr. Laporte.

According to Anh Thu (NLDO)

Source: https://baogialai.com.vn/dai-ngan-ha-nguyen-thuy-da-bi-pha-huy-post587886.html