A recent analysis suggests the odds of a collision between the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxy within 10 billion years are around 50 percent. However, scientists believe the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite system of the Milky Way, may be the “saving grace” that prevents this collision.
Researchers used data from NASA’s Hubble telescope and the European Space Agency’s Gaia telescope to simulate the movements of the Milky Way, Andromeda, and other galaxies. The simulations show that adding the Large Magellanic Cloud reduces the odds of a collision to just over 50 percent. This is because the cloud introduces sideways momentum to the Milky Way’s path, potentially keeping it out of Andromeda’s way.
However, not all agree with this assessment. Some scientists believe the combined mass of the Milky Way and Andromeda makes them more prone to coalesce, regardless of the influence of other galaxies. If a collision does occur, it may have little impact on Earth due to the sun’s expected collapse into a white dwarf in about 8 billion years.
The study’s findings indicate that the situation is more uncertain than previously thought, and further research is needed to refine estimates of dark matter and understand the fate of our galaxies.
Source: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/uncertain-milky-way-andromeda-collision