The latest forecast of scientists: After 30-4 billion years, the Milky Way eventually collided with the neighbor's fairy galaxy

Elephant reporter Chen Xiaoyu/Compilation

According to the United States Cable Television News Network, the Gemini northern telescope on the top of the Ma Nachi Mountains in Hawaii, USA was taken.

Gemini galaxy NGC 4567 and NGC 4568, others also called them butterfly galaxies, they just started collision because of gravity pull. Scientists predict that after 500 million years, the two galaxies will be merged to form a single oval galaxy.

(Gemini galaxies that have started collision NGC 4567 and NGC 4568)

At present, the collision is still in the early stage. The center of the two galaxies is currently 20,000 light years apart, and the shape of the windmill can be maintained. But over time, the original structure of the galaxy will change and distort.

Over the passage of time, they will rotate around each other with the smaller and smaller circles, pulling out long gases and stars. The two galaxies will be mixed together to form things similar to the sphere. After hundreds of millions of years, they consume all the gas and dust required for the birth of stars, and they will finally stabilize.

(A distant galaxy ID2299, this long "tail" formed by gas is the traces left by the two galaxies)

Observation of this phenomenon proves that the oval galaxy is merged from the spiral galaxy. For example, Ellipal Masie 89, it is also located in Virgo. It is now where the old star and the ancient star group are located.

(Messier 89 consists of about 100 billion stars and more than 2,000 ball -shaped star groups)

When our galaxy eventually collides with the nearest neighbor fairy galaxy, a similar galaxy merger also appears. Astronomers predict that the collision between the two galaxies will occur within about 3 billion to 4 billion years.

At present, the aura of the fairy galaxy is actually hitting the aura of the galaxy, that is, the plasma that surrounds the galaxy. This halo is invisible to the naked eye. If you can see it, it looks like the width of the earth will be three times that of the Beidou constellation, and it will become the most conspicuous star group in the night sky.

(The fairy galaxy halo and constellation comparison map detected by the Hubble Telescope)

The fairy galaxy contains as many as 1 trillion stars, which are similar in size to the galaxy. It is only 2.5 million light years from us. But don't worry too much about the future of the earth. Scientists of NASA said that when the Milky Way and Fairy Seat merged, our solar system is unlikely to be destroyed, but it may be "kicked" to a new area of ​​the Milky Way. There may be some spectacular views of the night sky.

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