Biswajit Pandey

A blacksmith forges a sword. With each hammer blow, the red-hot metal flattens, but the hammer, the anvil, and the surrounding air all warm up slightly. Part of the impact energy is irreversibly lost as heat — a trade-off familiar to anyone who has ever driven a nail, and it turns out to be the key to the biggest mysteries of the cosmos.

The formation of the Milky Way is a grand cosmic performance, in which mergers of satellite galaxies were woven into a single score. Each event left a trace in the dynamics and chemical composition of stars, much like notes capture the composer's intent.