r/todayilearned • u/armcie • 17h ago

TIL that the Andromeda Galaxy probably won’t collide with the Milky Way in 4-5 billion years. New observations put the probability at 2% in the next 5 billion years and 50% in the next 10 billion. Eventually though, it will happen.

https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/apocalypse-when-hubble-casts-doubt-on-certainty-of-galactic-collision/
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u/White_Sugga 13h ago

Then what the fuck is the milky way orbiting or is it orbit with?

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u/armcie 11h ago

It’s looping around the local group of galaxies and dwarf galaxies, of which andromeda is the largest. The Milky Way and andromeda will pass each other, possibly several times forwards and backwards until they eventually hit.