The Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxy will likely eventually collide, but what does this mean?
When will this happen? Andromeda is still 2 million light years away, but it is moving fast. The galaxies will collide in about 4 billion years.
The way this collision will affect earth is surprisingly not that bad. Now, all of this is not certain, but it is likely. All of the stars in both galaxies will go into a different orbit. Scientists think that the solar system will likely survive the collision. But, the sky will look different at night. When both galaxies come together there will be an explosion creating new stars.
Why could this event happen? Well, the gravity between the two galaxies pull them closer. The dark matter, that is invisible, also pulls them closer to each other because both have a lot of mass. Both galaxies are very big compared to other nearby galaxies.
Even though none of us will be alive when this happens, it is crazy how astronomers can know this is going to happen even though it is so far in the future.
Works cited
NASA. “NASA’s Hubble Shows Milky Way is Destined for Head-On Collision” https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/nasas-hubble-shows-milky-way-is-destined-for-head-on-collision/ December 2, 2024
NASA SVS. “A New Dawn” https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11011/#:~:text=It%20seems%20Earth%2C%20the%20sun,birth%20of%20a%20new%20galaxy December 2, 2024
Aaron S. Evans And Lee Armus. Scientific American. “Galaxy Collisions Preview Milky Way’s Fate” https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/galaxy-collisions-preview-milky-ways-fate/#:~:text=In%20approximately%20five%20billion,its%20nearest%20large%20neighbor%2C%20Andromeda. December 2, 2024
