Our Cosmic home is in constant motion, and it has been known for some time that this applies not only to the individual structures of space but also to the universe as a whole. With every passing second, the universe continues to expand. However, the cosmos itself does not expand into an existing space; rather, space itself increases incessantly. This realization was derived in the first half of the 20th century from the observation of the so-called Galaxy escape.
This means that gravitationally bound collections of stars that are very far away from us will continue to move further and further away from us in the future. However, this principle cannot be applied to those clustered star worlds that are practically right on our Earthly doorstep. On the contrary, in fact, we are already on a direct collision course with the Andromeda galaxy.
In today’s article, we’ll show you when we expect the two galaxies to crash and which consequences will go along with it. Want to learn more about groundbreaking discoveries and distinctive spectacles in the universe on a regular basis? Then remember to subscribe to Simply Space and click on the bell to stay up to date. By giving us a thumbs up, you’re motivating us and showing that we can keep you engaged with the content of our articles.
Andromeda Galaxy: The Closest Neighbour
No other collection of stars reaches as close to our local Milky Way as the Andromeda galaxy, located in the eponymous constellation Andromeda. The distance between us and the spiral galaxy is about 2.5 million light-years. As a result of this spatial constellation, Andromeda is the most distant structure that can be seen with the naked eye in the firmament.
A closer look at the conditions prevailing in our neighboring galaxy shows that the Milky Way and Andromeda share some common features. This is true not only for the spiral structure but also for the astronomical objects that convert into the gravitationally bound assemblages.
The Andromeda galaxy, which is also known as M31 for short, is sometimes adorned by dark dust areas in which new stars are constantly being born. In the outer regions, we find hundreds of globular clusters, while the glistening bright celestial bodies in the corresponding bonding areas still present themselves in the form of spherically symmetric condensations.
It is also possible to observe single stars of the Andromeda galaxy. In the meantime, it’s considered certain that almost every galaxy center is adorned by a supermassive black hole, and our galactic neighbor is no exception. The gravity monster there has a mass of about 100 million solar masses, which makes it much more imposing than our Sagittarius A star. But that’s not the only area where Andromeda impresses with its dimensions.
Its Halo, the nearly spherical area in the center of which the star cluster is embedded, has an extension of more than one million light-years. In this respect, our galactic neighbor is the largest representative of the local group. Our own Milky Way is also part of this galaxy group, and together with the Andromeda galaxy, it’s the most massive member.
Speaking of mass, the total mass of the Andromeda galaxy is currently estimated to be between 0.7 and 2.5 trillion solar masses, with stars again accounting for 100 billion solar masses. The mass of the Milky Way is, in turn, estimated at about 1.5 trillion solar masses.
Although Andromeda has been studied for some time, it was not until the late 19th century that astronomers were able to identify it as a spiral structure.
