{
  "id": 1500197,
  "title": "Ancient clash with 'Kraken' galaxy 12 billion years ago helped form Milky Way",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/17/ancient-clash-with-kraken-galaxy-12-billion-years-ago-helped-form",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-08-17T14:58:44.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "ABC News AU",
    "slug": "abc-news-au",
    "url": "https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2026-08-18/ancient-kraken-galactic-collision-helped-form-the-milky-way/107039962"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Astronomers have uncovered evidence that the Milky Way collided with another galaxy, dubbed Low-energy-Kraken-Heracles, around 12 billion years ago. This galactic merger occurred between the formation of the Milky Way and its subsequent collision with Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus. Newer telescopes will aid in uncovering more of the Milky Way's history, but for now, the galaxy is on course to collide with another entity. Throughout its existence, the Milky Way has grown by merging with neighboring galaxies on numerous occasions. One of the most significant collisions occurred over 10 billion years ago with Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus. Recent research suggests that yet another large galaxy merger happened 2 billion years before this event. Dubbed Low-energy-Kraken-Heracles, this merging galaxy was named after a Nordic sea monster and a Greek god. Lead author Davide Massari of the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics stated that the existence of this 12-billion-year-old merger had been a subject of debate. To gather more evidence, researchers analyzed the ages and chemical compositions of globular clusters, which pointed back to the galaxies they originally formed in before merging with the Milky Way. The researchers found a distinct set of globular clusters between the ages of the Milky Way and Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus, indicating a third satellite galaxy that was absorbed by the Milky Way. The name Low-energy-Kraken-Heracles was derived from suggestions by different research groups, with \"Low-energy\" referring to the low-energy orbits of the clusters, \"Kraken\" representing the elusive Scandinavian sea monster, and \"Heracles\" honoring the Greek hero associated with the Milky Way's formation. The Milky Way, which formed about 800 million years after the big bang 13.8 billion years ago, has grown from a small disc of gas to its current size of around 100,000 light years across, containing up to 400 billion stars. The Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus merger is easier to detect, but other mergers are harder to identify, leading to some uncertainty. The European Space Agency's Gaia satellite helped confirm the existence of the Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus merger. While the study is thorough, there is still potential for undiscovered collisions in the Milky Way's past. Future data from newer telescopes and other regions of the galaxy may reveal additional mergers.",
  "summary": "A new study suggests one of the most significant clashes in the history of the Milky Way, dubbed the \"Low-energy-Kraken-Heracles\" merger, happened 12 billion years ago.",
  "key_points": [
    "Milky Way collided with Low-energy-Kraken-Heracles galaxy 12 billion years ago",
    "Named after Nordic sea monster and Greek god, Kraken and Heracles",
    "Discovery aids in understanding Milky Way's past mergers"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}