Spiral galaxies like the Milky Way are surprisingly rare. Astronomers may finally know why. (www.livescience.com)

submitted 10 months ago by throws_lemy@lemmy.nz to c/astronomy@mander.xyz

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[-] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 11 points 10 months ago

A computer simulation says spiral galaxies on a plane bang into each other and result in more elliptical galaxies. Ours hasn’t banged into anyone else yet, that the computer simulation knows about.

[-] bdx2023@lemmynsfw.com 6 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

... So that infamous impending collision with Andromeda will take our spirals away?!

(Impending in a cosmological sense, so several million years at least IIRC)

[-] Trabic@lemm.ee 4 points 10 months ago

Thousands of millions of years I think, and continuing for at least hundreds of millions before the bouncing stops

https://media.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExbzcxZ2VudzQ0djQwZTB4MXdzbzdqdXQ4aDVkdWxkMnJ3amJndmlrbCZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/rytLWOErAX1F6/giphy.gif

[-] Kata1yst@kbin.social 2 points 10 months ago

Actually our galaxy has had at least 1 other collision according to our current understanding.

https://www.wired.com/story/this-galactic-collision-shaped-the-history-of-the-milky-way/

But our spiral likely formed after.

this post was submitted on 26 Nov 2023

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