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  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

The cosmic drama that helped to build the Milky Way

Stellar baby boom added a slew of stars to the Galaxy’s disk.
Gaia’s all-sky view of our Milky Way Galaxy and neighbouring galaxies

The Milky Way, captured here by the Gaia spacecraft, had a massive growth spurt that began some five billion years ago. Credit: ESA/Gaia/DPAC

A burst of star formation that peaked two billion to three billion years ago spangled the Milky Way with a new generation of stars.

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Nature 568, 436 (2019)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-01226-2

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