Astrophysics, Science, Space

ESA: Gaia Clocks New Speeds for Milky Way-Andromeda Collision

Gaia, Future motions of the Milky Way, Andromeda and Triangulum galaxies
The future orbital trajectories of three spiral galaxies: our Milky Way (blue), Andromeda, also known as M31 (red), and Triangulum, also known as M33 (green). The circle indicates the current position of each galaxy, and their future trajectories have been calculated using data from the second release of ESA’s Gaia mission. The Milky Way is shown as an artist’s impression, while the images of Andromeda and Triangulum are based on Gaia data. Orbits: E. Patel, G. Besla (University of Arizona), R. van der Marel (STScI); Images: ESA (Milky Way); ESA/Gaia/DPAC (M31, M33)

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