News > Astronomers dig up the stars that birthed the Milky Way

Astronomers dig up the stars that birthed the Milky Way

For around 20 years, astronomers have struggled to find an ancient group of stars mixed in with the gas, dust, and newer stars of our galaxy’s bulge. These “fossil” stars preceded the Milky Way and should have been discernible by their distinctive chemistry and orbits. After a billion years, the emergent galaxy “boiled,” frantically giving birth to metal-rich stars for 2 billion to 3 billion years.