In the Milky Way, 3 intruder stars are 'on the run' — in the wrong direction

Lots of stars are seen in the image. A central, straight structure goes diagonally from the bottom left to the top right; it has strings of gas, bright sections and other features. It represents the Milky Way's heart.

Astronomers have discovered three ancient stars "on the run" in the outskirts of the Milky Way galaxy, racing the wrong way at hundreds of thousands of miles per hour. 

Despite being spritely for their age, the three stars are so old that they date back to the formation of the first galaxies. That's between one and two billion years after the Big Bang.