3 days ago
Scientists have big rethink on possible Milky Way collision
Nasa scientists initially predicted that the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies would collide in four billion years.
A new study published in Nature Astronomy, based on 100,000 simulations using data from Nasa's Hubble and the European Space Agency's Gaia space telescopes, indicates only a 2 per cent chance of a collision between the Milky Way and Andromeda in the next five billion years.
The simulations suggest that in many scenarios, the galaxies will have close encounters but avoid a direct collision.
They may potentially merge in eight to 10 billion years, by which time the sun may have already died.
The updated findings incorporate the gravitational effects of the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy orbiting the Milky Way, which influences the motion of the Milky Way and reduces the likelihood of a merger with Andromeda.
