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Wednesday, April 27, 2011

A Star as Old as the Universe Found in Milky Way -- A Galactic Mystery

A Star as Old as the Universe Found in Milky Way -- A Galactic Mystery

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Astronomers have discovered a relic from the early universe -- a star that may have been among the second generation of stars to form after the Big Bang. Located in the dwarf galaxy Sculptor some 290,000 light-years away, the star has a remarkably similar chemical make-up to the Milky Way's oldest stars. Its presence supports the theory that our galaxy underwent a "cannibal" phase, growing to its current size by swallowing dwarf galaxies and other galactic building blocks.

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