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What is the story
A new study by researchers at the University of Helsinki and Durham University in England has revealed a surprising revelation.
Researchers suspect that a possible collision between our galaxy, the Milky Way, and its closest large neighbor, the Andromeda Galaxy, may not be as inevitable as previously thought.
The probability that this cosmic event will occur within the next 10 billion years is 50:50.
Although the Andromeda probe is currently approaching us at a speed of 110 km/s, it is still about 2.5 million light years away.
Advanced simulations bring new insights
The research team used the latest and most precise motion and mass data from the Gaia and Hubble space telescopes.
They used it to simulate the motions not only of the Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy, but also of two other major galaxies in our Local Group – the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and the Triangulum Galaxy.
These advanced simulations provided new insights into possible intergalactic interactions over billions of years.
Collision probabilities vary with additional galaxies
If we consider the Milky Way and Andromeda separately, almost half of the simulations resulted in a collision within the next 10 billion years.
By including the Triangulum Galaxy, this probability was increased to two-thirds.
However, when the simulations included the Milky Way as well as Andromeda and LMC, the probability dropped to a third.
A simulation with all four galaxies showed a merger of the Milky Way with the Andromeda Galaxy in just over 50% of cases.
Extended timeline for possible galactic merger
The study also found that if a collision were to occur, it would likely happen much later than previously thought.
The average time of the merger was determined to be over 7.6 billion years in the future, significantly longer than the previous estimate of four to five billion years.
This expanded timeline offers a new perspective on the possible fate of our galaxy and its cosmic neighbors.
A cosmic restructuring, not an apocalypse
A galaxy merger may sound apocalyptic, but it is unlikely to be a catastrophe for life forms in the galaxies.
Galaxies consist mostly of empty space, providing enough room for stars to maneuver around each other.
In the event of a collision, gravitational interactions would come into play, forcing stars into new orbits and, through the pressure on hydrogen, triggering increased star formation.
The merged galaxies would lose their current spiral shape and instead form a giant elliptical galaxy.
