Fossil Galaxy Discovered in Milky Way
Journey into the Heart of the Milky Way Source: Milky Way Stock Image Space Mysteries and Wonders Astronomers have discovered a fossil galaxy buried deep inside the Milky Way. They've named the fossil galaxy Heracles and believe that it collided with the Milky Way 10 billion years ago. It is very large and accounts for 1/3 of the Milky Way's spherical halo. So, why wasn't it discovered before now? Scientists say it wasn't discovered before because it is so deeply buried inside the Milky Way. Highly advanced technology was utilized to make the discovery. APOGEE Technology Highly advanced technology known as APOGEE was used to discover the fossil galaxy. The team, led by astronomer Ricardo Schiavon of the Liverpool John Moores University in the UK worked with data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey's Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment, or APOGEE. A Needle in a Haystack APOGEE provided the scientists with 10 years worth of tracking tens of th