Probably, yes. The main uncertainty here is how fast Andromeda is moving to the side. It's really easy to measure how fast it is moving towards us: that's done by just estimating the shift in the light coming from Andromeda's stars and gas clouds (it's moving towards us at 117km/s). But it's very difficult to estimate how fast Andromeda is moving to the side, and the estimates for that are extremely indirect.zytyxx said:
Yes, but as I mentioned that's a very indirect measurement. I really wouldn't trust those errors, personally.Chronos said:
zytyxx said:
Chronos said:
phyzguy said:
Oh well. It's probably going to happen. Too bad I'll be long dead when that happens. I wonder if our solar system will get thrown into intergalactic space? I sure hope not, but the chances are really pretty much 50/50 (in my opinion, anyway).Well, it's not really any more likely that there are aliens in Andromeda than there are aliens here in the Milky Way, so the collision won't noticeably increase the probability of aliens visiting. The fact that aliens haven't visited us yet, though, suggests that it's pretty unlikely, that the difficulties of interstellar travel really are tremendous enough that interstellar travel is almost never undertaken (if ever).zytyxx said:I just had a scary idea. If there are aliens or just other organisms living on the Andromeda Galaxy in one of the systems, isn't it possible that we could be living with aliens in the future? I just hope the aliens are amenable (if they exist at all).
phyzguy said:
Everyone else I know is owrrying about other things... No time for astronomy... :zzz:Oh well. I know about it now!
Chalnoth said:
I do rather hope we get around to it at some point, though. Difficult as it may be.Chronos said:
The Andromeda Galaxy, also known as Messier 31, is a spiral galaxy located approximately 2.5 million light-years away from Earth. It is the closest galaxy to our own Milky Way and is the largest member of the Local Group of galaxies.
The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains our Solar System. It is a barred spiral galaxy with an estimated diameter of 100,000–180,000 light-years. It is estimated to contain between 100-400 billion stars and is one of the most studied galaxies in the universe.
Yes, according to current scientific understanding, the Andromeda Galaxy and the Milky Way are on a collision course and will eventually collide in approximately 4 billion years. This event is known as the "Galactic Collision" or "Galactic Merger".
When the two galaxies collide, it is expected that their gravitational forces will cause them to merge into a single, larger galaxy. This process will take millions of years and will result in the redistribution of stars and gas within the new galaxy.
It is unlikely that the collision will have a direct impact on Earth, as the distance between stars is so vast that it is unlikely for any star to actually collide with our Sun. However, the increased gravitational forces and potential disruptions in the Milky Way's spiral arms could have indirect effects on the Solar System and Earth's orbit.