#quickscience #series Galactic collisions are not rare in our Universe, but sitting here on Earth, it is difficult for astronomers to fully understand their far-reaching impacts. For the first time ever, scientists now have a good understanding of our Milky Way galaxy's collision with the smaller dwarf galaxy Gaia-Enceladus about 10 billion years ago. The scientists surveyed stellar types in a novel way and discovered that bluer stars were set in chaotic motion from this galactic merger.
Due to the extreme distances between solar systems in the Milky Way (about 4-5 light years on average), the odds of planetary or stellar collisions during this event were rare. The same goes for future galactic collisions experienced by the Milky Way, notably the Andromeda merger expected to occur in 4.5 billion years. Interestingly, some researchers think this could jolt our Sun closer to the galactic center of this new, larger galaxy (and near its two supermassive black holes). Others, though, think the Andromeda collision will push our system out toward the furthest reaches of the new galaxy. Only time will tell.
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Primary information in this video is based on the study "Uncovering the birth of the Milky Way through accurate stellar ages with Gaia," published here:
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