The Evolution of the Modern Milky Way Galaxy

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When we scan the heavens with giant telescopes we see galactic cannibalism everywhere. We see moments that appear frozen on the human timescale, but are really snapshots of the incredibly violent process of galaxy formation. This is how all galaxies are made. We can piece together a pretty good understanding of this process from countless snapshots. Looking into the distance means looking into the past, so it’s possible to stitch together a Frankenstein flip book of galaxy evolution.

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Hosted by Matt O'Dowd

Written by Matt Caplan & Matt O'Dowd

Post Production by Leonardo Scholzer, Yago Ballarini, Pedro Osinski, Adriano Leal & Stephanie Faria

GFX Visualizations: Ajay Manuel

Directed by Andrew Kornhaber

Associate Producer: Bahar Gholipour

Executive Producers: Eric Brown & Andrew Kornhaber

Executives in Charge (PBS): Adam Dylewski, Maribel Lopez

Director of Programming (PBS): Gabrielle Ewing

Spacetime is produced by Kornhaber Brown for PBS Digital Studios.

This program is produced by Kornhaber Brown, which is solely responsible for its content.

© 2022 PBS. All rights reserved.

End Credits Music by J.R.S. Schattenberg

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