Monoceros ring
The Monoceros ring , named after the constellation of the unicorn , is a structure made up of millions of stars that winds several times (some sources speak of three times) in a ring around the Milky Way .
Astronomical context
The origin of the phenomenon is not fully understood. Mostly it is believed that the ring is made of stellar material that was detached from the Canis Major dwarf galaxy by the action of tidal forces as it merged with our home galaxy. The complex ring structure was created over a period of several hundred million years.
However, other astronomers assume that both the "ring" and the Canis major system are only widely distributed regions of the "thick disk" of the galactic disk .