What is the History of the Galaxy?
Our Milky Way galaxy is believed to be one of the original galaxies that formed at the dawn of the universe, more than 13.5 billion years ago. The universe itself began 13.7 billion years ago with the Big Bang. For about 200 million years, the universe was dark, as matter had not condensed into stars yet. During this period, matter slowly condensed into progressively denser pockets. In some areas, the density and temperature necessary to initiate nuclear fusion was reached, and the first stars were born. These primordial “Population III” stars are thought to have been short-lived, and extremely massive — hundreds of times the mass of our Sun. Being so massive, they were also very unstable, producing supernovae within mere tens of millions of years, leaving behind black holes. Out of their remnants, Population II stars with more typical masses were formed. Scientists have put the age of the Milky Way Galaxy at 13.6 billion years ago, give or take 800 million years. Further studies will
