What will the Milky Way's future hold when it collides with Andromeda in 2.5 billion years? Study reveals clues.
Research led by the University of Queensland in Australia is providing new clues about the fate of the Milky Way, which is heading for a collision with its neighboring galaxy, Andromeda , in an estimated 2.5 billion years.
The study, part of the collaborative project Delegate , focuses on understanding whether these types of cosmic events are common in the universe or whether they constitute an exception.
Coordinated by astrophysicist Sarah Sweet, the initiative also involves scientists from the Australian National University and other institutions, who have set out to analyze current examples of galactic mergers to project what could happen in the future of our cosmic environment.
The article was published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Photo: iStock
Sweet and his team studied in detail the galaxies NGC 5713 and NGC 5719 , located hundreds of millions of light-years from Earth, which are in an advanced state of merger, approximately 3 billion years before the scenario projected for the Milky Way and Andromeda.
“We studied two similar spiral galaxies, which are about 3 billion years ahead of the Milky Way and Andromeda in their merger process,” Sweet explained.
According to the scientist, both galaxies interact in a coordinated manner , "as if dancing, accompanied by the dwarf satellites orbiting them." This behavior resembles what researchers expect to happen when our two largest galaxies in the Local Group collide, transforming the idea of a chaotic collision into a complex cosmic choreography.
The analysis suggests that the fate of the Milky Way is part of a common process in the cosmos. Photo: iStock
Detailed analysis revealed several key elements. First, galaxies NGC 5713 and NGC 5719 are in an advanced merger stage .
Second, the astronomers observed a particular pattern: the presence of dwarf satellites orbiting in well-defined planes around the main galaxies . This suggests that, as in this system, a similar arrangement could develop when the Milky Way and Andromeda merge.
The third key point is that this type of alignment represents a challenge for current astronomical simulations , which are still unable to accurately reproduce the organization of these satellites in digital models.
As a result, experts believe that simulation algorithms and parameters will need to be adjusted to better reflect the physical processes observed in reality.
The collision between galaxies will be like a "cosmic dance," according to the scientists investigating it. Photo: iStock
Astrophysicist Helmut Jerjen of the Australian National University and lead author of the paper published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, highlights the importance of comparing these cases with the Local Group. “We want to know if our Local Group is typical or a cosmic anomaly. This is crucial for generalizing the findings and understanding galaxy evolution in a broader context,” he noted.
For Jerjen, determining whether the Milky Way's galactic environment represents a standard or unusual case can help better define models of galaxy formation and evolution on a global scale.
Beyond the technical impact of the study, Sarah Sweet also emphasized the human dimension of this far-reaching research. “Understanding the fate of our galaxy reminds us that we are part of a much larger cosmic story, unfolding over billions of years,” the scientist reflected.
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