Gaia discovers 2 ancient threads of Milky Way

Researchers at Germany's Max Planck Institute for Astronomy on Thursday announced the discovery of two new building blocks called "Shakti" and "Shiva," using the European Space Agency's (ESA) Gaia Space Telescope, Azernews reports.

The ancient threats, estimated to be 12 to 13 billion years old, are thought to have played a role in the formation of the Milky Way Galaxy.

According to a statement from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, the newly discovered "components were identified by combining data from ESA’s astrometry satellite Gaia with data from the SDSS survey."

According to estimates, "Shakti" and "Shiva" are among the oldest building blocks of the Milky Way, and they are expected to provide significant insights into the galaxy's origin.

The study's results were published in the Astrophysical Journal.