Inbox Astronomy: Apocalypse When? Hubble Casts Doubt on Certainty of Galactic Collision

INBOX ASTRONOMY

Apocalypse When? Hubble Casts Doubt on Certainty of Galactic Collision

Release date: Monday, June 2, 2025 11:00:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

A Possible Near Miss Between Our Galaxy and the Andromeda Galaxy

Over a decade’s worth of Hubble Space Telescope data was used to re-examine the long-held prediction that the Milky Way galaxy will collide with the Andromeda galaxy in about 4.5 billion years. The astronomers found that, based on the latest observational data from Hubble as well as the Gaia space telescope, there is only a 50-50 chance of the two galaxies colliding within the next 10 billion years. The study also found that the presence of the Large Magellanic Cloud can affect the trajectory of the Milky Way and make the collision less likely. The researchers emphasize 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.

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