Three very old stars circling our galaxy... too old.

[Maxmars]

MIT Researchers have reported locating three stars circling our galaxy... buzzing around the galaxy's halo... in the wrong direction. 

Also, these three stars appear to be 12 or 13 billion years old.  Far too old to have been born in our much younger galaxy.

There has been a suggestion that they must have been 'accreted' into orbit when a smaller globular galaxy was 'absorbed' in the distant past.

Details from MIT News: MIT researchers discover the universe’s oldest stars in our own galactic backyard
Subtitled: Three stars circling the Milky Way’s halo formed 12 to 13 billion years ago.


 

---

...
The stars’ low chemical abundance did hint that they originally formed 12 to 13 billion years ago. In fact, their low chemical signatures were similar to what astronomers had previously measured for some ancient, ultrafaint dwarf galaxies. Did the team’s stars originate in similar galaxies? And how did they come to be in the Milky Way?

On a hunch, the scientists checked out the stars’ orbital patterns and how they move across the sky. The three stars are in different locations throughout the Milky Way’s halo and are estimated to be about 30,000 light years from Earth. (For reference, the disk of the Milky Way spans 100,000 light years across.)

As they retraced each star’s motion about the galactic center using observations from the Gaia astrometric satellite, the team noticed a curious thing: Relative to most of the stars in the main disk, which move like cars on a racetrack, all three stars seemed to be going the wrong way. In astronomy, this is known as “retrograde motion” and is a tipoff that an object was once “accreted,” or drawn in from elsewhere.

“The only way you can have stars going the wrong way from the rest of the gang is if you threw them in the wrong way,” Frebel says.

---

So we have here, in our galactic neighborhood, some stars that were formed at the 'beginning' of our universe.  I hope this might be the beginning of our sifting through the 400 billion or so stars remaining... and figuring out a better picture of just how the observable universe has taken its shape, as it were.

[Nerb]

MIT Researchers have reported locating three stars circling our galaxy... buzzing around the galaxy's halo... in the wrong direction. 

Why would we assume it is those three stars circling in the "wrong" direction and not us, or that there is a wrong direction at all. If they each have mass that is spinning in one direction, the inner surface would convey them in one direction and everything inside their radius in the other like a gear system in a watch or clock.

So much to consider for little blips like us.

Triangles are a Universal fundamental me thinks and the key to everything, and we are just goo swirling in a plughole.

Tesla's mysterious comment about understanding "3 6 9" as the key to the Universe comes to mind.

[BeyondKnowledge]

Why would we assume it is those three stars circling in the "wrong" direction and not us, or that there is a wrong direction at all. If they each have mass that is spinning in one direction, the inner surface would convey them in one direction and everything inside their radius in the other like a gear system in a watch or clock.

So much to consider for little blips like us.

Triangles are a Universal fundamental me thinks and the key to everything, and we are just goo swirling in a plughole.

Tesla's mysterious comment about understanding "3 6 9" as the key to the Universe comes to mind.

When a billion of something goes in one direction and three of the same object go the opposite way, how else would you describe it?

It is surprising they haven't hit other stars as old as they are said to be.

[Nerb]

When a billion of something goes in one direction and three of the same object go the opposite way, how else would you describe it?

It is surprising they haven't hit other stars as old as they are said to be.

Maybe it's all about the Gravity and the forces involved with something so high frequency it's hard for us to understand with our primitive knowledge.

I just think it's all such a beautiful dance, and we get to ride the breeze as it plays it's tune.

[BeyondKnowledge]

Maybe it's all about the Gravity and the forces involved with something so high frequency it's hard for us to understand with our primitive knowledge.

I just think it's all such a beautiful dance, and we get to ride the breeze as it plays it's tune.

Chooka-chooka, hoo la ley
Looka-looka, koo la ley



"Wondrous is our great Blue Ship that sails around the mighty Sun and joy to everyone that rides along"
Jungle, ELO

[putnam6]

Chooka-chooka, hoo la ley
Looka-looka, koo la ley



"Wondrous is our great Blue Ship that sails around the mighty Sun and joy to everyone that rides along"
Jungle, ELO

I watch this video every time it pops up on my feed, so we are zipping through the Milky Way. Got to ask it looks like a swirling mass but it is moving or stationary, is our solar system going pop out of the Milky Way or are we caught in the swirl heading towards the center of the Milky Way

Ive become addicted to Ask AI... it's kind of scary in itself, but it's informative as hell gives you the gist of the answer but makes me want to understand more completely

Is our solar system moving through the Milky Way or is it being sucked toward the center of the Milky Way?
 

According to www.iAsk.ai Ask Ai Questions Search Engine:
Solar System Motion in the Milky Way
The solar system, including the Earth and other planets, is indeed in motion within the Milky Way galaxy. This motion is a combination of two main movements: the rotation of the Milky Way galaxy itself and the orbit of our solar system within it.
Rotation of the Milky Way Galaxy: The Milky Way galaxy rotates around its center, much like a spinning pinwheel. This rotation takes hundreds of millions of years to complete one full revolution. As a result, all the stars, planets, and other celestial bodies within the galaxy are carried along in this rotational movement.
Orbit of the Solar System: Within this rotating galaxy, our solar system also has its own orbital motion. The Sun, along with all its planets and other objects, orbits around the center of the Milky Way. This orbital path is not circular but rather elliptical in shape.
Direction Towards the Center: While our solar system is not being “sucked” towards the center of the Milky Way in a literal sense, it is influenced by the gravitational pull exerted by the massive black hole located at the center of our galaxy. This supermassive black hole, known as Sagittarius A*, has a gravitational effect on all objects around it, including stars and our solar system.
However, it’s important to note that our solar system is currently in a stable orbit around the center of the Milky Way and is not on a collision course with Sagittarius A*. The vast distances involved mean that any potential effects from this central black hole are more subtle and gradual rather than an immediate threat to our solar system’s existence.
In summary, our solar system is moving through the Milky Way due to both the galaxy’s rotation and our system’s orbital path around its center. While influenced by gravitational forces from Sagittarius A*, there is no imminent danger of being “sucked” towards the galactic center.
Top 3 Authoritative Sources Used:

1. NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration): NASA provides valuable information on space exploration, astronomy, and scientific research related to our solar system’s position within the Milky Way.
   
2. European Southern Observatory (ESO): ESO conducts astronomical observations and research that contribute to understanding galactic structures like the Milky Way and its influence on celestial bodies within it.
   
3. Space.com: Space.com offers up-to-date news and articles on space science topics, including insights into galactic dynamics such as how our solar system moves within the Milky Way.
   

[Maxmars]

I watch this video every time it pops up on my feed, so we are zipping through the Milky Way. Got to ask it looks like a swirling mass but it is moving or stationary, is our solar system going pop out of the Milky Way or are we caught in the swirl heading towards the center of the Milky Way

Ive become addicted to Ask AI... it's kind of scary in itself, but it's informative as hell gives you the gist of the answer but makes me want to understand more completely

Is our solar system moving through the Milky Way or is it being sucked toward the center of the Milky Way?

I found it interesting that you presented your question to AI in an "either/or" structure. 

Nevertheless, the AI response was complete in the sense that it reconciled the elements of the question in one answer.  I get that the answer to both elements of the question is "Technically yes. Why? 'Cause gravity generally sucks."...  But the synthesis of both such 'exclusionary' elements of the question in a single answer can be tricky... chalk one up for for a well-trained large language model.

[putnam6]

I found it interesting that you presented your question to AI in an "either/or" structure. 

Nevertheless, the AI response was complete in the sense that it reconciled the elements of the question in one answer.  I get that the answer to both elements of the question is "Technically yes. Why? 'Cause gravity generally sucks."...  But the synthesis of both such 'exclusionary' elements of the question in a single answer can be tricky... chalk one up for for a well-trained large language model.

LOL Im still trying to wrap the old noodle around, the properties of celestial motion which are mostly gravity till there is a collision, is it not? 

Even then what about stationary objects that are away from gravitational influence? Do they exist? or is everything perpetually in motion since the Big Bang?  

IIRC even the Big Bang, which was gospel in the GAPS circa 1970s is now theoretically being questioned.

and wasn't our particular swirl of the Milky Way supposed to merge with another galaxy(Andromeda?) relatively soon?

Lastly, do I detect a smirking response over the use of the Ask AI? I in no way am suggesting Ask AI is the end all be all, more it is a tool to point me in the right direction to get basic information quickly to delve into the deeper questions, such as dark matter. A theory that was virtually non-existent during my period of formal education, circa 1971-1984

here's how another AI site answered this question.

https://claude.ai/chat/2fdf2b82-a0b6-474...a28b1ed001

The solar system is moving with the Milky Way galaxy. Both the solar system and the Milky Way galaxy are moving through space, but the solar system's motion is primarily governed by the gravitational forces within the Milky Way galaxy.
Specifically:

1. The solar system orbits around the center of the Milky Way galaxy, completing one revolution approximately every 225-250 million years. This orbital motion is due to the gravitational pull of the supermassive black hole at the galactic center and the overall mass distribution of the galaxy.
   
2. Additionally, the entire Milky Way galaxy itself is moving through the intergalactic space at a velocity of around 600 km/s (1.3 million mph) relative to the cosmic microwave background radiation.
   
3. So while the solar system is orbiting within the Milky Way galaxy, it is also moving along with the entire galaxy as the Milky Way traverses through the cosmic expansion and the gravitational influences of other galaxy clusters.
   

In summary, the solar system is rotating and orbiting within the Milky Way, but this orbital motion is superimposed on the overall motion of the Milky Way galaxy itself through the larger universe.

https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble...collision/
 

 
"Our findings are statistically consistent with a head-on collision between the Andromeda galaxy and our Milky Way galaxy," said Roeland van der Marel of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore.
The solution came through painstaking NASA Hubble Space Telescope measurements of the motion of Andromeda, which also is known as M31. The galaxy is now 2.5 million light-years away, but it is inexorably falling toward the Milky Way under the mutual pull of gravity between the two galaxies and the invisible dark matter that surrounds them both.

This illustration shows a stage in the predicted merger between our Milky Way galaxy and the neighboring Andromeda galaxy, as it will unfold over the next several billion years. In this image, representing Earth's night sky in 3.75 billion years, Andromeda (left) fills the field of view and begins to distort the Milky Way with tidal pull.

https://www.inverse.com/article/62192-sc...ang-theory

 
The Big Bang is so widely accepted as the origin story of the universe that most people forget it is still a theory, and not proven fact. But new research led by astronomer Eric Lerner disputes the Big Bang, claiming that recent observations of light elements in the universe contradict the assumptions that support the theory.
The research was presented by Lerner on Wednesday at the 235th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Honolulu, Hawaii.