Images from a telescope in Hawaii show two spiral galaxies that are colliding. Due to the shape of their interaction, they are known as the butterfly galaxies. They are located in the Virgo cluster, and once they combine, they will form a new elliptical galaxy. This acts as a preview for what will happen in approximately five billion years, when our milky way galaxy collides with the Andromeda galaxy, which is our closest large neighbor. This collision will possible send our sun into a different region of the galaxy.
Key Takeaways:
- A new image shows two distant galaxies in the process of a stunning, violent collision.
- Our own galaxy is predicted to collide with a neighbor in about five billion years.
- The galaxy that results from this collision will likely be smooth and have older stars.
“That clash will give each galaxy a major make-over, as well as possibly flinging the sun and the solar system into a different region of the resulting galaxy.”
Read more: https://www.space.com/colliding-galaxies-butterfly-image
Reference:
- Space.com (Website)
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