- Collision between galaxies will happen in four billion years
- Stars will be tossed into different orbit around Milky Way's core - including our Sun
- Two billion years later, the two galaxies will 'merge' into one
By Christine Show
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Astronomers at NASA announced that they predict a major collision will occur between our Milky Way system and the next-door Andromeda galaxy.
The head-on encounter is expected to happen four billion years from now when the sun will be catapulted across another area of the galaxy as stars will be tossed into different orbits, astronomers at the Space Telescope Science Institute revealed on Thursday.
Although Earth and its solar system won't be destroyed, it will be pushed away from the galactic core more than it is now.
Colossal: This NASA illustration shows the Milky Way (left) and the Andromeda galaxy, which are expected to collide in four billion years from now
'After nearly a century of speculation about the future destiny of Andromeda and our Milky Way, we at last have a clear picture of how events will unfold over the coming billions of years,' said Sangmo Tony Sohn of the institute based in Baltimore, Maryland in a statement.
After the Andromeda galaxy finally strikes the Milky Way, it will be another two billion years before the two totally come together and form a single elliptical galaxy.
A mutual pull of gravity is bringing the two galaxies together as the Andromeda, known to scientists as M31 falls at a ferocious rate toward the Milky Way.
The Andromeda is currently 2.5million light-years away.
Impact: Earth won't be destroyed when the Andromeda smashes into the Milky Way (pictured), but stars will likely be tossed into different orbits and it will take an additional two billion years for the two galaxies to totally merge
'In the "worst-case scenario" simulation, M31 slams into the Milky Way head-on and the stars are all scattered into orbits,' said team member Gurtina Besla in a statement.
The Andromeda is plowing toward Earth's galaxy at roughly 250,000 miles per hour.
That rate is the equivalent of traveling from Earth to the moon in an hour.
Astronomers also believe a third, smaller galaxy called the Triangulum will also be a part of the collision and could join the Milky Way and Andromeda mashup.
It previously had been difficult to determine whether the two galaxies would slam into each other.
Members of the NASA Hubble Space Telescope team, however, were able to make certain that the two will crash with exact views of Andromeda's sideways motion.
Fast: The Andromeda (pictured) is plowing toward Earth's galaxy at roughly 250,000 miles per hour, which is the equivalent of traveling from Earth to the moon in 60 minutes
Change: When the two galaxies collide, the sun (pictured) will be catapulted across another area of the galaxy
'This was accomplished by repeatedly observing select regions of the galaxy over a five- to seven-year period,' said the institute's Jay Anderson, in a statement.
The astronomers used extremely powerful cameras to capture the measurements that were crucial to understand the motion of the Andromeda.
As the universe expands and accelerates, collisions can happen between two galaxies close together because of the gravity from dark matter around them.
These types of mergers were more likely to happen in the past when the universe was not as large as it is today.
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NASA won't even provide us with close ups of the lunar surface, yet we all jump for joy when they tell us about events due to occur 4 billion years from now. Hmm...
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Sorry to disappoint you, DM, but this is hardly new.
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If that collision is imminent, that begs the question - what will become of the Earth? - Winter Breeze, USA, 6/1/12 4:03 AM ......................... What Earth?
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The second picture is the best a perfect look at the galaxy. Just stunning.
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What a waste of time and money. Who cares about 2billion years from now? NASA should have their funding taken away and the money used for important things like stopping the global warming propaganda or funding our exit from the EU. I will not vote for any political party which supports NASA. You have been warned Cameron!!!
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Well we already know that in 4 billion + years the sun will become 400 times hotter than it is now and evaporate all life on earth. So thats something to look forward to!!
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This was news years and years and years ago. I know this because my twelve year old just shouted through to me and said "Dad why is this in today's newspaper, everyone knows this?"
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I will pencil it in into my diary!
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Better start watching Space 1999 again.
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We are being told 2 billion years in advance, why?
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