Hubble image archive
Fate of Sun After Galaxy Collision
This illustration is a before-and-after comparison of the size of our Milky Way galaxy at present, and after it fully completes a merger with the neighboring Andromeda galaxy 10 billion years from now. The merged galaxies will blend together to create an elliptical galaxy of agin...
- Date
- Jan 1, 2012
- Mission
- Hubble Space Telescope
- Archive ID
- hubblesite-images-2012-20-3036-image
This illustration is a before-and-after comparison of the size of our Milky Way galaxy at present, and after it fully completes a merger with the neighboring Andromeda galaxy 10 billion years from now. The merged galaxies will blend together to create an elliptical galaxy of aging stars. Our Sun now orbits in the Milky Way's disk. But after the merger, it likely will be tossed into a looping orbit that will bring it both nearer to the center and farther into the outskirts of the newly formed elliptical galaxy.
Credits
NASA, ESA, and A. Feild and R. van der Marel (STScI)More Images From This Period
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Source
Image and source material are credited to the official mission archive linked below.
View on NASA.gov