Hey space explorers! 🚀 Have you ever heard that our home galaxy, the Milky Way, was going to crash into another giant galaxy called Andromeda? Well, new research says maybe not! 😊
Scientists used super-powerful computers to run simulations (like super-advanced video games) to see what might happen billions of years from now. They found out that there’s only a 50% chance that the Milky Way and Andromeda will collide in the next 10 billion years! That’s like flipping a coin! 🪙
Before, we thought that in about 4.5 billion years, the two galaxies were definitely going to smash into each other, creating a new mega-galaxy some called “Milkomeda”. This could have been bad news for our solar system. But now, thanks to these new simulations, there’s a good chance we’ll avoid that cosmic crash! 🌠
Even if they do get close, the galaxies might just pass by each other, like two ships in the night, only getting as near as 500,000 light-years apart! That’s still super far away. 🌌
What’s a light-year? It’s the distance light travels in one year, which is about 6 trillion miles or 9 trillion kilometers! So 500,000 light-years is a huge distance! 🛰️
By the way, our Sun and Earth won’t be around by then. In about a billion years, the Sun will make Earth too hot for life. But it’s still fun to learn about what could happen in the far future of our galaxy! 🌞🌎
So next time you look up at the night sky, remember that the universe is full of surprises, and sometimes, those surprises are good news! Keep exploring and keep dreaming! ✨
Reference(s):
Milky Way may not be destroyed in galactic smash-up after all
cgtn.com
