Hubble Spies Ancient Dead Stars At The Heart Of The Milky Way

Space





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A dense collection of stars as seen by Hubble. NASA/ESA/STScI/SWEEPS Science Team

Billions of years ago what would eventually be the Milky Way galaxy began to form. Young, hot, Sun-like stars within the galactic center were some of the first stars and as such, laid the foundation for what would be our galaxy. The majority of these first residents of our galaxy have long since burned out, leaving behind smoldering stellar cinders known as white dwarfs. Locked away within the dying embers of these “dead stars” is a fossilized account of our galaxy’s earliest history.