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The Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy to Collide

June 01, 2012; 8:09 AM

The Milky Way galaxy, which we belong to, and our closest neighbor galaxy, the Andromeda are destined to come together.

Not to worry though. This collision should not occur or 4 billion years! And, another reason not to worry, the Earth and solar system are in no danger of being destroyed.

The two galaxies are currently 2.5 million light-years away from each other. The mutual pull of gravity between the two galaxies is making the Andromeda galaxy fall toward the Milky Way galaxy.

Check out the video of a computer simulation of this collision by clicking here.

NASA astronomers announced this finding on the last day of May. Yet another great finding by the Hubble telescope!

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The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of AccuWeather, Inc. or AccuWeather.com

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About This Blog

Astronomy Blog
The AccuWeather.com astronomy blog, by Mark Paquette, discusses stargazing and astronomy issues and how the weather will interact with current astronomy events.