Cornell Astronomers Ask: What Happens When Worlds Collide?
In about five billion years, the Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxies will collide much like the two galaxies NGC 4038 and NGC 4039 in this image, which are known as the Antennae Galaxies. Most of the hundreds of billions of stars in each of the galaxies will never actually collide, but will pass rather freely between each other with little damage. This however, will not be the case for the interstellar matter consisting largely of clouds of debris, dust, and gas. The high relative velocities and pressures between the interacting interstellar clouds will pull, twist, and distort the two galaxies and trigger a firestorm of star formation.
Comments:
.. rather than the classic 'whirlpool' shape. Given the news stories from earlier this month, I'm not certain the opening sentence of this article is correct.<br><br>http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/aprilholladay/2006-01-02-milky-way_x.htm
<blockquote class="blockquote"><div class="italic"><i>mark flanagan said:</i><br><br>.. rather than the classic 'whirlpool' shape. Given the news stories from earlier this month, I'm not certain the opening sentence of this article is correct.<br><br>http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/aprilholladay/2006-01-02-milky-way_x.htm</div></blockquote><br>I'm not understanding you I think. The article about the galaxies colliding doesn't mention the shape of the Milky Way? <br><br>Certainly the first sentence doesn't mention it. And I don't think the picture was supposed to imply the Milky Way is one type of galaxy or the other?
