When galaxies collide

artiteacher Galactic Collision Andromeda Milky Way

When galaxies collide (Oh-oh, they mostly just pass right through!) / Stars won't hit, it's so wide (Yeah, there's so much empty room!)

artiteacher Gravity plays the cosmic harp

artiteacher Gravitational tidal forces will stretch both galaxies into long, beautiful tails of stars and gas.

artiteacher While stars won't collide, massive clouds of gas and dust will smash together, triggering rapid star birth.

BETA

artiteacher The physics of a smash-up

Fun Fact

Empty space: The chance of any two individual stars physically colliding during the merger is nearly zero.

Glossary

gravity (noun)
The force that attracts a body toward any other physical body having mass. This pull draws the neighboring Andromeda galaxy toward our own at 110 kilometers per second.

Gossip

Which cosmic event sounds most terrifying to experience?

Quiz

How long is the entire collision and merger process expected to take?

artiteacher Gas clouds spark a stellar baby boom

Quiz

What are the long, stretched-out streams of stars pulled away by gravity during a merger called?

artiteacher Why stars will rarely collide

Quiz

Why are actual star-on-star collisions unlikely when Andromeda and the Milky Way merge?

artiteacher Two supermassive black holes meet

Quiz

Which fundamental force is entirely responsible for pulling Andromeda and the Milky Way together?

Quiz

What will happen when the two central supermassive black holes eventually meet?

Quiz

What sits at the center of both the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies?

Quiz

What happens to the vast dust clouds when two galaxies collide?

Quiz

What color is associated with the intense new star formation triggered by colliding gas clouds?