Important Innovations

  New California Institute of Technology Research                                                                 Source:  NASA Milky Way Likelihood of Alien Life on the Milky Way Physicists at California Institute of Technology have used astronomy and statistical modelling to map the probable existence of life on the Milky Way.  Three Caltech physicists have precisely mapped where and when life is most likely to exist in the Milky Way.  Essentially they modelled the evolution of the Milky Way over time.  They used key factors necessary for the development of intelligent life such as Sun-like stars accompanied by Earth-like planets, time necessary for intelligent life to evolve and the frequency of deadly radiation from supernovas. Findings The scientists used time and space metrics to measure the  most likely locations for the presence of life.  They found the greatest probability of the existence of life at 13,000 light years from the galaxy center and 8 billion years after the galax

  Journey into the Heart of the Milky Way Source:  Milky Way Stock Image Space Mysteries and Wonders Astronomers have discovered a fossil galaxy buried deep inside the Milky Way.  They've named the fossil galaxy Heracles and believe that it collided with the Milky Way 10 billion years ago.  It is very large and accounts for 1/3 of the Milky Way's spherical halo.  So, why wasn't it discovered before now? Scientists say it wasn't discovered before because it is so deeply buried inside the Milky Way.  Highly advanced technology was utilized to make the discovery. APOGEE Technology Highly advanced technology known as APOGEE was used to discover the fossil galaxy.  The team, led by astronomer Ricardo Schiavon of the Liverpool John Moores University in the UK worked with data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey's Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment, or APOGEE. A Needle in a Haystack APOGEE provided the scientists with 10 years worth of tracking tens of th