Latest news with #Sawala.The
Economic Times
2 days ago
- General
- Economic Times
'Not so fast': NASA shares a big update on 'end of the world' doomsday prediction
NASA, in collaboration with the European Space Agency, has updated its long-standing prediction about a future collision between the Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxy. A new study using data from the Hubble and Gaia space telescopes suggests that the once-assumed head-on crash is no longer a certainty. Researchers ran 100,000 simulations and found there's only a 50% chance the two galaxies will collide within the next 10 billion years. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Revisiting the Future of the Milky Way How Likely Is a Collision? Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Other Galaxies Add to the Complexity Still a Small Chance of a Sooner Collision A Universe of Unknowns For over a century, scientists believed that a cosmic catastrophe awaited our galaxy. In 1912, astronomers noticed that the Andromeda galaxy appeared to be on a collision course with the Milky Way. In 2012, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope confirmed that Andromeda's sideways movement was minimal, reinforcing the idea of a direct hit in about 4 to 5 billion years. But now, a new study says that might not be the case after all.A new paper published in Nature Astronomy presents a very different outlook. Using data from both NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and the European Space Agency's Gaia observatory, astronomers have re-examined the previous prediction. The updated study, led by University of Helsinki astronomer Till Sawala, suggests the future isn't as certain as once believed.'We have the most comprehensive study of this problem today that actually folds in all the observational uncertainties,' said research team, which includes scientists from Durham University, the University of Toulouse, and the University of Western Australia, ran computer simulations to understand the long-term behavior of the Milky Way and Andromeda. Their conclusion? There's about a 50% chance of a collision occurring within the next 10 billion reach this finding, astronomers considered 22 variables and ran 100,000 simulations stretching far into the future. This method, known as Monte Carlo simulation, helps model outcomes with complex variables.'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,' said added that while the Milky Way and Andromeda might appear destined to merge, 'they could still go past each other.'The study also took into account the influence of other nearby galaxies — Andromeda's massive satellite M33, and the Milky Way's Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). Both galaxies add gravitational forces that impact the trajectory and motion of the Milky Way and Andromeda.'The extra mass of Andromeda's satellite galaxy M33 pulls the Milky Way a little bit more towards it. However, we also show that the LMC pulls the Milky Way off the orbital plane and away from Andromeda. It doesn't mean that the LMC will save us from that merger, but it makes it a bit less likely,' Sawala with the revised outlook, a head-on collision remains possible, albeit unlikely. The new data still allows for a 2% chance that the two galaxies might collide in just 4 to 5 billion years — a scenario similar to earlier Earth's habitability will be long gone by then, as scientists estimate the Sun will make the planet too hot for life within 1 billion years, and will itself burn out in about 5 billion study reflects how astronomical predictions continue to evolve as better data becomes available. 'Even using the latest and most precise observational data available, the future of the Local Group of several dozen galaxies is uncertain,' said Sawala. '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.'NASA and ESA's Hubble Space Telescope, which has been operational for over 30 years, remains a cornerstone of space exploration . The ongoing collaboration between international teams continues to reshape what we know — and what we think we know — about the future of our galaxy.
Time of India
2 days ago
- General
- Time of India
'Not so fast': NASA shares a big update on 'end of the world' doomsday prediction
NASA, in collaboration with the European Space Agency, has updated its long-standing prediction about a future collision between the Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxy. A new study using data from the Hubble and Gaia space telescopes suggests that the once-assumed head-on crash is no longer a certainty. Researchers ran 100,000 simulations and found there's only a 50% chance the two galaxies will collide within the next 10 billion years. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Revisiting the Future of the Milky Way How Likely Is a Collision? Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Other Galaxies Add to the Complexity Still a Small Chance of a Sooner Collision A Universe of Unknowns For over a century, scientists believed that a cosmic catastrophe awaited our galaxy. In 1912, astronomers noticed that the Andromeda galaxy appeared to be on a collision course with the Milky Way. In 2012, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope confirmed that Andromeda's sideways movement was minimal, reinforcing the idea of a direct hit in about 4 to 5 billion years. But now, a new study says that might not be the case after all.A new paper published in Nature Astronomy presents a very different outlook. Using data from both NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and the European Space Agency's Gaia observatory, astronomers have re-examined the previous prediction. The updated study, led by University of Helsinki astronomer Till Sawala, suggests the future isn't as certain as once believed.'We have the most comprehensive study of this problem today that actually folds in all the observational uncertainties,' said research team, which includes scientists from Durham University, the University of Toulouse, and the University of Western Australia, ran computer simulations to understand the long-term behavior of the Milky Way and Andromeda. Their conclusion? There's about a 50% chance of a collision occurring within the next 10 billion reach this finding, astronomers considered 22 variables and ran 100,000 simulations stretching far into the future. This method, known as Monte Carlo simulation, helps model outcomes with complex variables.'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,' said added that while the Milky Way and Andromeda might appear destined to merge, 'they could still go past each other.'The study also took into account the influence of other nearby galaxies — Andromeda's massive satellite M33, and the Milky Way's Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). Both galaxies add gravitational forces that impact the trajectory and motion of the Milky Way and Andromeda.'The extra mass of Andromeda's satellite galaxy M33 pulls the Milky Way a little bit more towards it. However, we also show that the LMC pulls the Milky Way off the orbital plane and away from Andromeda. It doesn't mean that the LMC will save us from that merger, but it makes it a bit less likely,' Sawala with the revised outlook, a head-on collision remains possible, albeit unlikely. The new data still allows for a 2% chance that the two galaxies might collide in just 4 to 5 billion years — a scenario similar to earlier Earth's habitability will be long gone by then, as scientists estimate the Sun will make the planet too hot for life within 1 billion years, and will itself burn out in about 5 billion study reflects how astronomical predictions continue to evolve as better data becomes available. 'Even using the latest and most precise observational data available, the future of the Local Group of several dozen galaxies is uncertain,' said Sawala. '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.'NASA and ESA's Hubble Space Telescope, which has been operational for over 30 years, remains a cornerstone of space exploration . The ongoing collaboration between international teams continues to reshape what we know — and what we think we know — about the future of our galaxy.
India Today
4 days ago
- Science
- India Today
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 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 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 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 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 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 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
