![]() ![]() While the arms of the Milky Way will surely be ripped up by this process, individual stars are relatively safe as the spaces between them are quite large. This created an intriguing streak of gas, dust and other materials flowing into the larger galaxy, visible even from Earth. The largest of the group, as it got into a tight orbit with the other two, snagged some material with its relatively stronger gravity. The short story is there is little to worry about the longer tale is the process is an interesting one as it shows how galaxies may evolve.įor example, observations of a three-way galactic collision in 2022 using the famed Hubble Space Telescope gave some intriguing insights. NASA and other space entities have been observing distant galaxy collisions for decades now to get a sense of what we might be facing when Andromeda and the Milky Way collide. Though there is no need to worry just yet, this crash of cosmic proportions is not due for another 4 billion years. The Milky Way is currently hurtling towards Andromeda at 250,000mph (400,000 km/h). It turns out that it's pretty good to know who your neighbors are, as they may be closer than you think. We now know that the Milky Way resides within the Local Group of galaxies, made up of over 30 galaxies including Andromeda, Triangulum and Leo I to name but a few. ![]() (Image credit: NASA Hyperwall) (opens in new tab) Studying other galactic collisions provides insight into the future Andromeda and Milky Way merger. A future collision of galactic proportions Astronomers can estimate the shape of the Milky Way by looking at its population of stars, as well as their movements across the sky. ![]() Our best estimates these days suggest that it is a barred spiral, meaning that there is a bar structure across the center. More recently, astronomers have been trying to figure out what type of galaxy the Milky Way is. Modern estimates suggest the Andromeda galaxy, our nearest galaxy neighbor is 2.5 million light-years away. The dispute was resolved when Edwin Hubble's measurements of Cepheid variable stars proved Andromeda was located far outside the Milky Way. On the other side of the debate, Curtis did not dispute Shapley's claims of a far larger Milky Way, he did however argue that there were large island universes (galaxies) such as Andromeda, that lay beyond the boundaries of the Milky Way. He also claimed that "spiral nebulae" such as Andromeda were a part of the Milky Way. On one side of the debate, Shapley believed the Milky Way was much larger than previous estimates and that we weren't at the center. "The Great Debate" in 1920 saw astronomers Herber Curtis and Harlow Shapley argue the scale of the universe and the prospect of "island universes" (galaxies), according to the National Academy of Sciences (opens in new tab). We are constantly building on our wealth of knowledge of the Milky Way, though up until relatively recently astronomers believed that all the stars in the sky belonged to our galaxy. ![]() (Image credit: Yang Hanwen and Zhou Zezhen ) (opens in new tab) The Andromeda Galaxy is on a collision course with the Milky Way. Milky Way galaxy type and the great debate of 1920 For example in China it is called "Silver River" and in the Kalahari Desert in South Africa it's called the "Backbone of Night". In Greek mythology, this milky band appeared because the goddess Hera sprayed milk across the sky.Īround the world, the Milky Way is known by different names. Why is our galaxy called the Milky Way?Īccording to the American Museum of Natural History (opens in new tab) (AMNH), our galactic home is called the Milky Way after its apparent milky white appearance as it stretches across the night sky. In 2022, we imaged this glutton at the core of our galaxy for the very first time, through an innovative technique allowing us to view the shadow of the black hole. About 4 million times the mass of the sun, this beast consumes anything that strays too close, gorging on an ample supply of stellar material enabling it to grow into a giant. Lying at the very heart of the Milky Way is a supermassive black hole called Sagittarius A*. Our window into the universe, this milky white band of stars, dust and gas is where our galaxy gets its name. On a clear night, void of light pollution, we can catch a glimpse of the bright lights of the galactic city streaking across the night sky. ![]()
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