Fate of Sun After Galaxy Collision

This illustration is a before-and-after comparison of the size of our Milky Way galaxy at present, and after it fully completes a merger with the neighbouring Andromeda galaxy 10 billion years from now. The merged galaxies will blend together to create an elliptical galaxy of aging stars. Our Sun now orbits in the Milky Way's disk. But after the merger, it likely will be tossed into a looping orbit that will bring it both nearer to the centre and farther into the outskirts of the newly formed elliptical galaxy.

Credit:

NASA, ESA, and A. Feild and R. van der Marel (STScI)

About the Image

Id:opo1220n
Type:Artwork
Release date:6 May 2014, 15:33
Size:3000 x 2086 px

About the Object

Name:Andromeda Galaxy, M 31, Messier 31, Milky Way
Type:Milky Way
Milky Way : Star
Category:Galaxies
Stars

Image Formats

r.titleLarge JPEG
1.7 MB
r.titleScreensize JPEG
218.6 KB

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