Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Our galaxy is on a collision course with Andromeda, and astronomers have confirmed that this cosmic encounter is no longer just a theory. Traveling toward each other at hundreds of thousands of miles per hour, the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies are expected to begin merging in roughly 4 to 5 billion years, creating one of the most spectacular events in the history of our cosmic neighborhood.
Credits: Eso0228a: By ESO -eso.org/public/images/eso0228a/http://www.eso.org/public/outreach/copyright/, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33356380
CC BY 2.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0:
WLM Dwarf Galaxy: By NASA's James Webb Space Telescope - flickr.com/photos/nasawebbtelescope/52489012875/, tinyurl.com/5n6j2tjm
CC BY-SA 4.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0:
CFW Telescope: By Gordon W Myers, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=35277986
06-Local Group (LofE06240): By Andrew Z. Colvin, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=71065238
Local Group and nearest galaxies: By Antonio Ciccolella, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=50409931
Large Magellanic Cloud: By Kevinmloch, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=103980318 CC BY-SA 2.0
Tom Hiddleston, Loki (1): By Gage Skidmore - tinyurl.com/mar38zpy, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29782936
CC BY 4.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0:
An intriguing dwarf galaxy: By ESA/Hubble, Alessandra Aloisi (STScI) and Nick Rose - spacetelescope.org/images/potw1511a/, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=38973424
True blue: By ESA/Hubble & NASA, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40976697
Star formation region Lupus 3: By ESO/R. Colombari - eso.org/public/images/eso1804a/, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=66058253
ESO-VLT-Laser-phot-33a-07: By ESO/Y. Beletsky - web.archive.org/web/20081121184421/http://www.eso.org/gallery/v/ESOPIA/Paranal/phot-33a-07.tif.html, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7398904
A Starry Combination: By ESO/J. Colosimo - eso.org/public/images/potw1511a, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=38973313
detailed view of the Triangulum Galaxy: By ESO - eso.org/public/images/eso1424a/, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34571682
CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo/:
Gaia observes the Milky Way: By Spacecraft: ESA/ATG medialab; Milky Way: ESA/Gaia/DPAC. Acknowledgement: A. Moitinho. - https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2022/06/Gaia_observes_the_Milky_Way, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=119243221
The colour of the sky from Gaia’s Early Data Release 3 ESA22358060: By ESA/Gaia/DPAC. Acknowledgement: A. Moitinho. - https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2020/12/The_colour_of_the_sky_from_Gaia_s_Early_Data_Release_3, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=97227885
Animation is created by Bright Side.
Credit:
Milky Way IR Spitzer: By Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/S. Stolovy (Spitzer Science Center/Caltech) - tinyurl.com/2aypv4y5, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2098328
Galactic Cntr: By 2MASS/G. Kopan, R. Hurt - tinyurl.com/4kftxv3v, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2166391
Galaxy Collision: By NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center and the Advanced Visualization Laboratory at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, B. Robertson, L. Hernquist, svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10687
Galaxy Collisions: Simulation vs Observations: By F. Summers (STScI), C. Mihos (CWRU) & L. Hernquist (Harvard), svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/30686
Milky Way & Andromeda Collision: By Frank Summers (STScI), Gurtina Besla (Columbia University), and Roeland van der Marel (STScI), svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/30955
Andromeda and Milky Way collision sequence: By Credit: NASA; ESA; Z. Levay and R. van der Marel, STScI; T. Hallas, and A. Mellinger - tinyurl.com/6wj8p649, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19992539
Andromeda Collides Milky Way: By NASA; ESA; Z. Levay and R. van der Marel, STScI; T. Hallas; and A. Mellinger - tinyurl.com/6wj8p649 and images.nasa.gov/details/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001738, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19730667
CC BY 3.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0:
Our galaxy is on a collision course with Andromeda, and astronomers have confirmed that this cosmic encounter is no longer just a theory. Traveling toward each other at hundreds of thousands of miles per hour, the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies are expected to begin merging in roughly 4 to 5 billion years, creating one of the most spectacular events in the history of our cosmic neighborhood.
Credits: Eso0228a: By ESO -eso.org/public/images/eso0228a/http://www.eso.org/public/outreach/copyright/, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33356380
CC BY 2.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0:
WLM Dwarf Galaxy: By NASA's James Webb Space Telescope - flickr.com/photos/nasawebbtelescope/52489012875/, tinyurl.com/5n6j2tjm
CC BY-SA 4.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0:
CFW Telescope: By Gordon W Myers, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=35277986
06-Local Group (LofE06240): By Andrew Z. Colvin, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=71065238
Local Group and nearest galaxies: By Antonio Ciccolella, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=50409931
Large Magellanic Cloud: By Kevinmloch, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=103980318 CC BY-SA 2.0
Tom Hiddleston, Loki (1): By Gage Skidmore - tinyurl.com/mar38zpy, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29782936
CC BY 4.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0:
An intriguing dwarf galaxy: By ESA/Hubble, Alessandra Aloisi (STScI) and Nick Rose - spacetelescope.org/images/potw1511a/, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=38973424
True blue: By ESA/Hubble & NASA, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40976697
Star formation region Lupus 3: By ESO/R. Colombari - eso.org/public/images/eso1804a/, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=66058253
ESO-VLT-Laser-phot-33a-07: By ESO/Y. Beletsky - web.archive.org/web/20081121184421/http://www.eso.org/gallery/v/ESOPIA/Paranal/phot-33a-07.tif.html, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7398904
A Starry Combination: By ESO/J. Colosimo - eso.org/public/images/potw1511a, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=38973313
detailed view of the Triangulum Galaxy: By ESO - eso.org/public/images/eso1424a/, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34571682
CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo/:
Gaia observes the Milky Way: By Spacecraft: ESA/ATG medialab; Milky Way: ESA/Gaia/DPAC. Acknowledgement: A. Moitinho. - https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2022/06/Gaia_observes_the_Milky_Way, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=119243221
The colour of the sky from Gaia’s Early Data Release 3 ESA22358060: By ESA/Gaia/DPAC. Acknowledgement: A. Moitinho. - https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2020/12/The_colour_of_the_sky_from_Gaia_s_Early_Data_Release_3, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=97227885
Animation is created by Bright Side.
Credit:
Milky Way IR Spitzer: By Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/S. Stolovy (Spitzer Science Center/Caltech) - tinyurl.com/2aypv4y5, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2098328
Galactic Cntr: By 2MASS/G. Kopan, R. Hurt - tinyurl.com/4kftxv3v, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2166391
Galaxy Collision: By NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center and the Advanced Visualization Laboratory at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, B. Robertson, L. Hernquist, svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10687
Galaxy Collisions: Simulation vs Observations: By F. Summers (STScI), C. Mihos (CWRU) & L. Hernquist (Harvard), svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/30686
Milky Way & Andromeda Collision: By Frank Summers (STScI), Gurtina Besla (Columbia University), and Roeland van der Marel (STScI), svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/30955
Andromeda and Milky Way collision sequence: By Credit: NASA; ESA; Z. Levay and R. van der Marel, STScI; T. Hallas, and A. Mellinger - tinyurl.com/6wj8p649, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19992539
Andromeda Collides Milky Way: By NASA; ESA; Z. Levay and R. van der Marel, STScI; T. Hallas; and A. Mellinger - tinyurl.com/6wj8p649 and images.nasa.gov/details/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001738, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19730667
CC BY 3.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0:
