ClassX Video Lessons Youtube Channel Science Time When Galaxies Collide – What Happens When Andromeda Collides With The Milky Way?
Our Milky Way galaxy is on a cosmic collision course with the Andromeda galaxy. While we can’t stop this event, we can predict what might happen. Thanks to the Hubble Space Telescope and the newer James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers can study other galaxy collisions to understand what to expect. By looking deep into space, these telescopes allow scientists to explore the earliest periods of galaxy formation, just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang.
In its first year, the James Webb Space Telescope will provide researchers with detailed infrared images of 19 galaxies. This will help them understand the life cycle of stars and how young galaxies and dark matter work together to create large cosmic structures. The telescope will reveal hidden parts of galaxies where stars are actively forming, areas often obscured by dust.
Galaxies are vast collections of stars, gas, dust, and dark matter, all held together by gravity. Over billions of years, their appearance and composition are shaped by interactions with other galaxies and star groups. Gravity creates a massive web of filaments that connect galaxies and clusters across hundreds of millions of light-years.
Fritz Zwicky, a Caltech astronomer, discovered that galaxies in clusters move so quickly that extra matter must exist to keep them gravitationally bound. This concept, known as dark matter, was largely ignored until Vera Rubin’s studies showed that spiral galaxies spin so fast they would fly apart without this unseen matter. Dark matter makes up about 85% of the universe’s matter, and its presence is confirmed by phenomena like gravitational lensing, where light from distant galaxies is bent and distorted by the gravity of dark matter.
The first mini-galaxies formed when the universe was just a few hundred million years old. Over time, these small galaxies merged to form larger ones, including spirals like the Milky Way. Based on Hubble Space Telescope data, the Milky Way is on a collision course with Andromeda. Although this collision is certain, the fate of our solar system remains unknown. By the time this event occurs, the sun will have expanded, possibly engulfing the inner planets.
If humanity is around to witness the collision, it will be a slow process by human standards, unfolding over billions of years. However, the cosmic light show will be spectacular. Once the collision is complete, the galaxies will merge into a super galaxy. Despite the universe’s expansion, Andromeda is moving toward the Milky Way at 68 miles per second. Currently 2.5 million light-years away, it will take about 4 billion years to reach us. The galaxies will collide, pass through each other, and then merge over billions of years, forming a massive elliptical galaxy.
The Milky Way, Andromeda, and 52 other galaxies form the Local Group, gravitationally bound to each other. Most are dwarf galaxies, with the center located between the Milky Way and Andromeda. The next large galaxy is the Triangulum galaxy, which may also join the merger.
Telescopes like the Hubble Space Telescope provide stunning views of galaxies. For instance, the European Southern Observatory captured the Milky Way’s beauty across the sky. The Milky Way contains 200 to 400 billion stars, but we can’t see its structure from within. Exploring nearby galaxies, like the Whirlpool galaxy, offers a glimpse into the universe’s vastness. This galaxy, 30 million light-years away, is interacting with a smaller dwarf galaxy, showcasing the universe’s dynamic nature.
Almost every large galaxy, including the Milky Way and Andromeda, has a supermassive black hole at its center. These dense regions of space have gravity so intense that nothing, not even light, can escape. As stars orbit these black holes, some mass is lost during close encounters. Eventually, the black holes will collide, creating detectable gravitational waves.
While the stars of the Milky Way and Andromeda are unlikely to crash into each other, the galaxies will merge into a new, vast galaxy. The solar system, if it still exists, will become part of this cosmic structure.
Thank you for exploring this cosmic journey! If you enjoyed learning about galaxies, consider diving deeper into the wonders of the universe.
Design a simple simulation using a computer program or an online tool to model the collision between the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies. Use this simulation to visualize the gravitational interactions and the eventual merging process. Discuss your findings with your classmates and consider how the simulation helps you understand the dynamics of galaxy collisions.
Conduct research on dark matter and its role in the universe. Create a presentation that explains its discovery, its significance in galaxy formation, and how it affects the movement of galaxies. Include visual aids such as diagrams or videos to enhance your presentation. Share your insights with the class and engage in a discussion about the mysteries of dark matter.
Investigate the capabilities and discoveries of the James Webb Space Telescope. Write a report on how this telescope is advancing our understanding of galaxy formation and the life cycle of stars. Include recent images or data released by the telescope and explain their significance. Present your report to the class and discuss the future potential of this groundbreaking technology.
Study the role of supermassive black holes in galaxies, focusing on their gravitational influence and the phenomenon of gravitational waves. Create a detailed infographic that illustrates how black holes interact with their surroundings and contribute to galaxy evolution. Display your infographic in the classroom and explain its key points to your peers.
Participate in a class debate about the future of the Milky Way and its collision with Andromeda. Divide into teams to argue different perspectives on the potential outcomes of this cosmic event. Use scientific evidence and theories to support your arguments. After the debate, reflect on what you learned about the complexity and unpredictability of galaxy interactions.
Here’s a sanitized version of the provided YouTube transcript:
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Our Milky Way galaxy is destined to collide with the Andromeda galaxy. There’s no stopping it, but we can predict what will happen. Thanks to the Hubble Space Telescope and more recently the James Webb Space Telescope, we can study other galaxy collisions to learn more about what to expect. Astronomers will be able to probe the earliest periods of galaxy formation by looking deep into space to see the first galaxies that formed in the universe only a few hundred million years after the Big Bang.
Within the first year of operations, the James Webb Space Telescope will help researchers create a more detailed sketch of the stellar life cycle with higher resolution infrared images of 19 galaxies. It will explore how stars, young galaxies, and dark matter work together to create large-scale cosmic structures. The missing elements that Webb will fill in are largely in areas of the galaxies that are obscured by dust, regions where stars are actively beginning to form.
Galaxies are collections of stars, gas, dust, and dark matter held together by gravity. Their appearance and composition are shaped over billions of years by interactions with groups of stars and other galaxies. Gravity builds a vast cobweb structure of filaments tying galaxies and clusters of galaxies together along faint bridges hundreds of millions of light-years long.
We’ve been focusing on the photons, which tell us part of the story. Fritz Zwicky, a Caltech astronomer, realized that galaxies in a cluster were moving so quickly that additional matter must be present to keep them gravitationally bound. This concept, known as dark matter, was largely ignored for about 40 years until Vera Rubin studied the rotation of spiral galaxies and found they were spinning so quickly that they would fly apart unless extra matter was present.
Dark matter constitutes about 85% of the matter in the universe, averaged over large distances, including galaxies and clusters of galaxies. Photons provide evidence, but there are also independent pieces of evidence like gravitational lensing. Dark matter in a cluster bends the light from a background galaxy, distorting it into streaks. The amount of distortion indicates that there is much more matter present than just the visible matter.
The first mini-galaxies formed when the universe was just a few hundred million years old. Over time, these small galaxies interacted and merged to build larger galaxies, including big spirals like our own Milky Way. Based on data from the Hubble Space Telescope, the Milky Way is predicted to be on a collision course with the Andromeda galaxy. While scientists are confident that this collision is inevitable, the fate of the solar system in the event of a collision is currently unknown. Unless we have truly conquered space and moved out among the stars, we will not be around to see it, as by that time, the sun will have engulfed the inner planets.
If some version of humanity does witness it, what will they see? The actual collision will unfold over billions of years, but by human standards, it will proceed at a slow pace. The light show, however, will be spectacular. Once the collision is complete, the galaxies will coalesce into one super galaxy. The universe is expanding, and most objects in it are moving away from one another, but the Andromeda galaxy (M31) is currently speeding towards the Milky Way at 68 miles per second. Right now, Andromeda is still 2.5 million light-years away, and it will take around 4 billion years to reach us. Once it does, the galaxies will collide head-on, move past each other, then sling back and begin to merge. This process will take billions of years to conclude, resulting in a massive elliptical galaxy.
The Milky Way, Andromeda, and 52 other galaxies known as the Local Group are gravitationally bound to each other. Most of these galaxies are dwarf galaxies, with the center of the system located somewhere between the Milky Way and Andromeda. The next large galaxy besides Andromeda is the Triangulum galaxy. Both of the largest galaxies have their own systems of galaxies moving around them as satellites, similar to how the moon orbits the Earth. According to NASA, Triangulum may also become involved in the galaxy merger.
Images from telescopes like the Hubble Space Telescope provide incredible high-resolution views of galaxies. For example, a photograph taken by the European Southern Observatory shows the Milky Way from various points around the Earth, capturing its beauty across the entire sky. The Milky Way contains approximately 200 billion to 400 billion stars, but we don’t see its structure in photographs from within because we are inside looking out.
The next step is to explore nearby galaxies. One well-known galaxy is the Whirlpool galaxy, which is visible to amateur astronomers in the northern hemisphere. This galaxy is about 30 million light-years away and is currently interacting with a smaller dwarf galaxy. Each point of light in these images represents the mapped position of a galaxy, giving a sense of the size and scale of the universe.
Surveys allow us to estimate the number of galaxies visible to us, possibly in the observable universe. The Milky Way galaxy is just one galaxy among two trillion in the universe. Observational evidence indicates that almost every large galaxy has a supermassive black hole at its center, including the Milky Way and Andromeda.
Black holes are extremely dense regions of space where gravity is so intense that nothing, including light, can escape. As millions of stars orbit around the black holes at the centers of our galaxy and Andromeda, some mass loss occurs, with a small fraction of this matter moving towards each other during close encounters. Eventually, these black holes will collide. Any civilization within 3.25 million light-years that has gravitational wave sensing technology comparable to ours would be able to detect this collision.
The predicted curvature of light rays and the effects of space-time caused by the mass of the black hole can be observed as we approach it. The brightness around the event horizon represents light rays from the entire 360-degree sky focused onto the edge of the event horizon.
As for the stars of the Milky Way and Andromeda, scientists do not believe it is likely that they will crash into each other, despite the potential for stellar interactions. Once the galaxies collide, what remains of the solar system will likely still exist, becoming part of a vast new galaxy.
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This version maintains the original content while removing any unnecessary repetition and ensuring clarity.
Galaxies – Large systems of stars, gas, dust, and dark matter bound together by gravity, often containing billions of stars. – The Milky Way and Andromeda are two of the most well-known galaxies in our universe.
Dark – Referring to the absence of light or the invisible components of the universe, such as dark matter and dark energy, that do not emit or interact with electromagnetic radiation. – Scientists are still trying to understand the nature of dark energy, which makes up a significant portion of the universe.
Matter – Substance that has mass and occupies space, forming the physical components of the universe, including stars, planets, and galaxies. – Ordinary matter, which makes up everything we can see, is only a small fraction of the total matter in the universe.
Gravity – The force of attraction between masses, which governs the motion of celestial bodies and the structure of the universe. – Gravity is responsible for keeping planets in orbit around stars and galaxies bound together.
Collision – An event where two or more celestial bodies come into contact or interact, often resulting in significant changes to their structure or trajectory. – The collision between the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies is predicted to occur in about 4.5 billion years.
Universe – The totality of all space, time, matter, and energy that exists, including all galaxies, stars, and planets. – The observable universe is estimated to be about 93 billion light-years in diameter.
Stars – Luminous celestial bodies made of plasma, held together by gravity, and generating energy through nuclear fusion in their cores. – Our Sun is a medium-sized star that provides the necessary heat and light to sustain life on Earth.
Black – Often used in the context of black holes, regions in space where the gravitational pull is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape. – Black holes are formed when massive stars collapse under their own gravity at the end of their life cycles.
Holes – In astronomy, typically referring to black holes, which are regions of spacetime exhibiting gravitational acceleration so strong that nothing can escape from them. – The event horizon is the boundary around a black hole beyond which no information or matter can escape.
Light – Electromagnetic radiation that is visible to the human eye and is responsible for the sense of sight, also used to study distant celestial objects. – Light from distant stars and galaxies takes millions of years to reach Earth, allowing astronomers to look back in time.
