The Chairman's Daily

Science

Astronomers long expected the Milky Way and Andromeda to collide in about 4.5 billion years — but a 2025 study in Nature Astronomy, using Hubble and Gaia data, estimated only a roughly 50–50 chance of the galaxies merging within the next 10 billion year - Space Daily

The 2025 estimate depended on uncertain motions and neighbouring galaxies. A 2026 follow-up put the merger probability higher, showing why the forecast remains sensitive to the measurements.

The Chairman's DailyMonday, September 7, 20262 min read
Astronomers long expected the Milky Way and Andromeda to collide in about 4.5 billion years — but a 2025 study in Nature Astronomy, using Hubble and Gaia data, estimated only a roughly 50–50 chance of the galaxies merging within the next 10 billion year - Space Daily

The Milky Way’s expected collision with Andromeda became considerably less certain in June 2025. In a Nature Astronomy paper led by Till Sawala, researchers using Hubble and Gaia observations estimat… [+5329 chars]

Share this article

Related Stories

Astronomers using Hubble found a new roughly 104,000-mile-wide ten-sided storm forming at Saturn’s south pole, a geometric twin to the famous hexagon that has long circled the north - Space Daily
Science

Astronomers using Hubble found a new roughly 104,000-mile-wide ten-sided storm forming at Saturn’s south pole, a geometric twin to the famous hexagon that has long circled the north - Space Daily

Antarctica gained a record 695 billion tons of ice. Scientists found the surprising reason - Science Daily
Science

Antarctica gained a record 695 billion tons of ice. Scientists found the surprising reason - Science Daily

Triton likely formed in the outer solar system before Neptune captured it, largely destroying the planet’s original moon system. JWST observations published in July 2026 suggest today’s inner moons reassembled from the wreckage — although Nereid may be - Space Daily
Science

Triton likely formed in the outer solar system before Neptune captured it, largely destroying the planet’s original moon system. JWST observations published in July 2026 suggest today’s inner moons reassembled from the wreckage — although Nereid may be - Space Daily