The Milky Way Might Not Smash Into the Andromeda Galaxy After All, New Simulation Indicates

For over a decade, researchers have suggested a high possibility of our Milky Way galaxy smashing into neighboring galaxy Andromeda around 5 billion years from now. The collision would merge the two galaxies into a single (very creatively named) “Milkomeda”—but new research now indicates that this is less likely than previously assumed. Integrating new data from the Gaia and Hubble telescopes, an international team of researchers has simulated our galaxy’s movement for the next 10 billion years. The computer model also makes use of new mass estimates for other galaxies within the Local Group—a galactic group that hosts the Milky Way and Andromeda, among others. Ultimately, the simulation indicates that there is only about a 50% probability that the two galaxies will collide in the next 10 billion years, bolstering similar results from previous studies. “Here we consider the latest and most accurate observations by the Gaia and Hubble space telescopes, along with recent consensus mass ... Read full article.