Like w:Messier 54 (the other extragalactic globular on Messier's list), it is thought that M79 is not native to the w:Milky Way galaxy at all, but instead to the w:Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy which is currently experiencing a very close encounter with the Milky Way, one it is unlikely to survive intact. This is, however, a contentious subject as astronomers are still debating the nature of the Canis Major dwarf galaxy itself[2]; care must therefore be taken when associating any object with the Canis Major dwarf.