One interesting result revealed in the new data is the large number of faint red dwarf stars.
ENGADGET: 9-gigapixel image of the Milky Way reminds us just how small we truly are
However, the researchers believe that a survey of 500 or so dwarf stars could discover such a planet.
The modeling of white dwarf stars that fail to detonate can be directly connected to the new class of very dim supernova explosions, according to Jordan and his team.
Those white dwarf stars that find themselves near a "companion" star can draw material from their neighbour, building up to a critical mass and eventually sparking nuclear fusion again in a nova.
The small size of the red dwarf stars, typically with spectral types K and M, gives a greater relative drop in brightness when low-mass planets pass in front of them, making it easier to search for planets around them.
ENGADGET: 9-gigapixel image of the Milky Way reminds us just how small we truly are
An analysis of small, dim "red dwarf" stars - which make up a majority of stars in our galaxy - shows that 6% of them host such a planet.
BBC: Exoplanets near red dwarfs suggest another Earth nearer
The violent encounter would have stripped away most of the dwarf galaxy's stars, but it also could have compressed the gas around its central black hole, triggering a new wave of star formation.
Computer modelling suggests that as ageing stars throw off their outer layers and lose mass to become a dwarf, they destabilise the environment around them.
"To our complete surprise, we found several red dwarf binaries with orbital periods significantly shorter than the 5-hour cut-off found for sun-like stars, something previously thought to be impossible, " the study's lead author Bas Nefs, from Leiden Observatory in the Netherlands, said in a statement.
MSN: 'Impossible' stars found in our galaxy - Technology & science - Space - Space.com | NBC News
The observations suggest that the young stars must be less than 200 million years old, meaning the collision between the parent galaxy and its dwarf likely occurred around that time.
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