Fate of our galaxy

[sciwriter]

news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061017/sc_nm/space_galaxy_dc

New image gives insight into colliding galaxies Tue Oct 17, 4:49 PM ET


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A seemingly violent collision of two galaxies is in fact
a fertile marriage that has birthed billions of new stars, and an image released
on Tuesday gives astronomers their best view yet.

The new image of the Antennae galaxies allows astronomers working with the
orbiting

Hubble Space Telescope to distinguish between new stars and the star clusters
that form them.
Most of these clusters, created in the collision of the two galaxies, will
disperse within 10 million years but about 100 of the largest will grow into
"globular clusters" -- large groups of stars found in many galaxies, including
our own Milky Way.
The Antennae galaxies, 68 million light years from Earth, began to fuse 500
million years ago.
A light year is the distance light waves travel in one year -- about 6 trillion
miles.
The image serves as a preview for the Milky Way's likely collision with the
nearby Andromeda Galaxy, about 6 billion years from now.

[leslie]

The image serves as a preview for the Milky Way's likely collision with the nearby Andromeda Galaxy, about 6 billion years from now.

Wow, I can hardly wait. But the quoted result, however, definite it is made to sound, is still only an indefinite theory. With the movement of small or medium-sized galaxies in our local area of the Universe, within 6 billion years there is every chance that one will hit us before Andromeda. It depends how fast etc and where it hits us, there may be minimal damage or our galaxy could be destroyed, or we could just swallow up the intruder.

I look forward to the actual result in the year 6,000,000,002,006 (I think I have put in sufficient 0's!!!
Leslie

[leslie]

Hi Sciwriter

"" Collision Created Rings Around Andromeda
By Sara Goudarzi
Staff Writer
posted: 18 October 2006
01:05 pm ET

Our giant neighboring galaxy, Andromeda, was involved in a head on collision with the dwarf galaxy, M32, some 210 million years ago, scientists announced today.


Infrared images from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope recently revealed a never seen before ring of dust within Andromeda.


The new ring [image] and the presence of a previously observed outer ring suggest a disturbance that could have only been caused by a collision. Astronomers suspect that the impact was brought about by the dwarf galaxy Messier 32 (M32).


"These dust rings are like ripples in a pond," said lead study author David Block from University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. "Plop a stone into water and you get an expanding series of rings or waves. Let a small galaxy collide nearly head-on with a larger one, and you will see waves or rings of gas and dust that propagate outward as a result of the violent gravitational interaction.”


To recreate the impacts of the crash, the researchers used computer models. The simulations showed that M32 plunged through the disk of Andromeda along Andromeda's polar axis back when dinosaurs roamed the Earth.


In the crash, M32 lost more than half of its original mass and the much more massive Andromeda was disrupted.


Astronomers believe that Andromeda—currently 2 million light years away from the Milky Way—will collide with our galaxy in 5 billion to 10 billion years. The two will eventually join to form one large elliptical galaxy. ""

Leslie

[sciwriter]

Leslie, fascinating! Thanks. Carl

[Bob S]

The Andromeda Galaxy and our Milky Way Galaxy are on a collision course at about 300KM/S. I don't expect anyone will be around to observe this happening because it should occur about a billion years from now.
Sorry. I am not too sure of the exact numbers that I entered but they are in the ballpark (i hope). Sorry, I won't be around to observe but it would be interesting to see what happens when star clusters and galaxys collide. Fireworks all over the place. LOL ;D

[kaima]

Darn I hate to miss an exciting event like that! Well, I put my hope in all of the Dooms Sayers that predict the end of the world and the Second Coming in Our Time!

All of my life someone has always been predicting the end of the world & the second coming in our lifetime, and I am still waiting. Now I can understand why America is so deep in debt and so religious. No one believes they will be around to pay the debts before the Second Coming comes! They will get their final reward before the debt is due. This is pretty neat, and good in a consumer driven economy.

Now for me, so far I am pretty disappointed and getting older while waiting for this Second Coming. I want to see the fireworks! Hellfire and Brimstone! Fighting Angels and Armageddon! This is not just a once-in-a-lifetime event, but once in eternity!

Let's go for it, Bro!

Kai
PS. Failing that, I'll am willing to hang around for the adventure you are advertising, Bob.

[sciwriter]

Guys, who do you think is tha antichrist? Howard Stern? Carl

[Bob S]

;D Kai. I'd like to be around for that event too but I think that our solar system and Earth will be long gone by then. Oh well I guess the 2 of use are doomed to miss out on the event. I will continue to look at the night sky and perhaps I'll discover the undiscovered planet. LOL ;D ;D

[kaima]

sciwriter said:

Guys, who do you think is tha antichrist? Howard Stern? Carl

Na, Howard Stern is just whale droppings on the bottom of the ocean. George Bush on the other hand pretends to be holy and righteous and practices hard anti-Christianity. He, if anybody, qualifies.

Kai

[justjohn]

kaima said:

sciwriter said:

Guys, who do you think is tha antichrist? Howard Stern? Carl

Na, Howard Stern is just whale droppings on the bottom of the ocean.
Kai

Howard Stern is ambergriss? NAHHHHHH

[kaima]

Well John,

I was thinking of something that would stink everytime it got into the air (or maybe onto the airwaves?). You are right, however. I understand Ambergris does have a socially redeeming value!

Kai ;->