Once inevitable collision between Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies now seems less likely, astronomers say

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A collision between our Milky Way galaxy and its largest neighbor, the Andromeda galaxy, predicted to occur in about 4.5 billion years, has been anticipated by astronomers since 1912. But new research suggests that the likelihood of this galactic clash, dubbed “Milkomeda,” is smaller than it seems.

At first glance, it appears likely that the galactic duo — separated by about 2.5 million light-years — is on an inevitable collision course. The Milky Way and Andromeda are barreling toward each other at about 223,694 miles per hour (100 kilometers per second).

However, the Local Group, or our corner of the universe, includes 100