Sun will be thrown out: When will Milky Way Galaxy collide with Andromeda?
Astronomers had predicted over a century ago the fate of the Milky Way Galaxy. It is on a collision course with its next-door Andromeda Galaxy.Further research indicated that the collision was predicted to be so violent that it would toss the Sun out of its orbit destroying planets like Earth and the entire Solar System. A new study now claims that isn't the case.advertisementAnalysis of data from the Hubble Space Telescope and the European Space Agency's (ESA) Gaia space telescope reveal that the collision is far less inevitable than astronomers had previously suspected.
'We have the most comprehensive study of this problem today that actually folds in all the observational uncertainties," the lead author of the paper, Till Sawala said. The details have been published in the journal Nature Astronomy.
These galaxy images illustrate three possible encounter scenarios between our Milky Way and the neighbouring Andromeda galaxy. (Photo: Nasa)
WHEN WILL THE COLLISION HAPPEN? Astronomers estimate that there is a 50-50 chance that the mega collision of the two galaxies could happen in the next 10 billion years based on computer simulations using the latest observational data.advertisement'Even using the latest and most precise observational data available, the future of the Local Group of several dozen galaxies is uncertain. Intriguingly, we find an almost equal probability for the widely publicized merger scenario, or, conversely, an alternative one where the Milky Way and Andromeda survive unscathed,' said Sawala.The team mentioned that 'Even using the latest and most precise observational data available, the future of the Local Group of several dozen galaxies is uncertain. Intriguingly, we find an almost equal probability for the widely publicised merger scenario, or, conversely, an alternative one where the Milky Way and Andromeda survive unscathed,' said Sawala. The team mentioned that predicting the long-term future of galaxy interactions is highly uncertain, but the new findings challenge the previous consensus and suggest the fate of the Milky Way remains an open question.They considered 22 different variables that could affect the potential collision between our galaxy and our neighbour.'Because there are so many variables that each have their errors, that accumulates to rather large uncertainty about the outcome, leading to the conclusion that the chance of a direct collision is only 50% within the next 10 billion years. The Milky Way and Andromeda alone would remain in the same plane as they orbit each other, but this doesn't mean they need to crash. They could still go past each other,' said Sawala.The new result, however, also still leaves a small chance of around 2% for a head-on collision between the galaxies in only 4 to 5 billion years. Trending Reel
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