Evolution.jpeg (IMAGE) Durham University Caption Positions and orbits of the 11 classical satellite galaxies of the Milky Way, projected “face-on” (top) and “edge-on” (bottom), integrated for 1 billion years into the past and future. The right panels are a zoom-in of the left panels. The black dot marks the centre of the Milky Way, arrows mark the observed positions and the directions of travel of the satellites. While they currently line up in a plane (indicated by the grey horizontal line), that plane quickly dissolves as the satellites move along their orbits. Credit Till Sawala / Sibelius collaboration Usage Restrictions Credit must be given to the creator. License CC BY Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.