What happens when two galaxies collide?

Did you know that the Andromeda Galaxy is moving at a speed of 300 kilometers per second towards the Milky Way, where our solar system and Earth are located? Well, according to scientists, there will be a collision in 4 or 5 billion years. But what will be the consequences? Read on and see what we know.

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When did the discovery happen?

The discovery occurred in 2012, when NASA astronomers used data from the Hubble Telescope and observed Andromeda’s movement.

In 2020, there was a new discovery: a galaxy merger may have already occurred. At least that’s what research conducted using Hubble data shows. At that time, Science magazine published this information.

Scientists noticed that what looked like a ring of gas covering the galaxy, the “halo,” was what started this merger. However, the touching structures extend millions of light-years around the central part where the star cluster is located.

What will the collision of galaxies generate?

There is a lot of speculation about what the stars, the solar system, and even human life would look like. Then, understand each of these points.

There will be no collision of stars

Instead of the galaxies actually colliding, they will go through a merger, whereby when they are at a more advanced stage, there will be the formation of a single giant elliptical galaxy along with the formation of new stars. Therefore, there will be no influence between the celestial bodies of the two galaxies.

But what could happen is that stars would be lost, as many of them would be thrown into the void of the universe.

The solar system will suffer the effects

Sounds a bit scary, doesn’t it? However, scientific studies indicate that although the solar system will be affected, it will likely not be destroyed, as there are large spaces between the stars.

However, scientists point out that one of the effects the system experienced was a displacement into an isolated region of the Milky Way Galaxy or even a move into Andromeda space.

What about human life?

Since we are talking about billions of years for galaxies to collide, there would be no humans, as life would be impossible on Earth, as theories indicate that the Sun would increase its luminosity and cause the oceans to evaporate.

Black hole phenomenon

Both the Andromeda Galaxy and the Milky Way contain a black hole. In the process of meeting between galaxies, they will collide with each other. This way, they would be able to capture the gas, which would rapidly rotate and heat up to hundreds of thousands of degrees. This will release an intense glow and energy. Hence, one or even two quasars could be formed at the center of the galaxy merger.

One possibility is that the entire solar system is approaching one of the holes and that the Earth and the Sun could be caught and subsequently destroyed by the black hole or even thrown out of the galaxy due to the transfer of orbital energy. There is also the possibility that it is close to the quasar and receiving intense X-rays and ultraviolet radiation.