Objects floating in space normally have the probability to bump into each other. These are usually relatively minor as it doesn't have any significant impact on Earth much less our solar system. However, in a recent discovery, scientists have calculated that a nearby galaxy is on a path of slamming into the Milky Way. But not to worry, you may not witness it within your lifetime.
The unfortunate discovery was made after scientists ran computer simulations on the movement of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), one of the many satellite galaxies that orbits the Milky Way. Rather than circling at a safe distance, or breaking free of the Milky Way’s gravitational pull, the researchers found the LMC is destined to clatter into the galaxy we call home.
At the moment, the LMC is estimated to be about 163,000 light years from the Milky Way and speeding away at 250 miles per second. But simulations by astrophysicists at Durham University show that the LMC will eventually slow down and turn back towards us, ultimately smashing into the Milky Way in about 2.5 billion years’ time.
(Image credit: Wikimedia Commons)
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