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When will the Milky Way and Andromeda collide?

Tim Johnson, Devon

It has been known for decades that our closest galactic neighbour, the Andromeda Galaxy, is heading toward our own Milky Way at around 120km/s. But until recently, astronomers were unsure whether Andromeda would score a direct hit, a near miss or a glancing blow. While it's quite easy to measure the relative approach speed of Andromeda, it's very difficult to measure its exact direction of motion. But a few months ago, using the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers finally pinned down its trajectory. It will collide head-on with the Milky Way, in about four billion years' time.

 

Illustration showing the predicted merger between Andromeda (left) and the Milky Way (right). Credit: NASA; ESA; Z. Levay and R. van der Marel, STScI; T. Hallas; and A. Mellinger

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