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Story summary
- Astronomers report an ancient dwarf galaxy Loki lies inside the Milky Way.
- Researchers examined 20 metal-poor stars in the galactic plane to locate the relic.
- Chemical analysis revealed supernova and neutron-star merger signatures but no white-dwarf explosion products, indicating Loki was short-lived and never formed such stars.
- Eleven stars have prograde orbits and nine retrograde, a pattern researchers call early accretion that scrambled motions when Loki merged with Milky Way.
