The GALAH survey: A million-star exploration of Galactic history

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The GALactic Archaeology with HERMES (GALAH) survey is an observational study of the orbital motions and chemical compositions of a million stars in our Galaxy, set to begin in late 2013. This type of data is central to understanding how star formation, stellar migration and galaxy mergers have shaped the Milky Way. The unprecedented scale of this new survey will allow an extraordinarily clear view into Galactic history. This project will use this data to make the first definitive determination of the role of minor galaxy mergers in the assembly of the Milky Way. Since our own galaxy and its nearest neighbours are the only ones that can be studied at this level of star-by-star detail, the GALAH survey is also a crucial step forward in our understanding of all spiral galaxies.