The nearest large galaxy to us – the Andromeda Galaxy – is a good place to study the history of galaxies like our own Milky Way, from the outside, without the complication of being embedded within. Two Maunakea observatories – Gemini and the Canada-France Hawaii Telescope – provided critical data for studying the motions of star clusters in the outer regions of the Andromeda Galaxy. The results reveal the remains of past “galactic cannibalism” events in which the Andromeda Galaxy swallowed smaller galaxies (almost) whole. Eventually the Milky Way itself appears to be on Andromeda’s menu (but not for a very long time!). Find out more in the two related news releases: CFHT and Gemini Observatory.