22/11/2015

Andromeda and Milky Way Might Collide Sooner Than We Think

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Andromeda and Milky Way Might Collide Sooner Than We

Think
by Bob King on May 15, 2015

Andromedas halo is gargantuan. Extending for at least 2 million light years, if we could see in our
night sky it would be 100 times the diameter of the Moon or 50 degrees across! Credit: NASA
The merger of the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxy wont happen for another 4 billion years, but the recent discovery of a massive halo of hot
gas around Andromeda may mean our galaxies are already touching. University of Notre Dame astrophysicist Nicholas Lehner led a team of
scientists using the Hubble Space Telescope to identify an enormous halo of hot, ionized gas at least 2 million light years in diameter surrounding
the galaxy.
The Andromeda Galaxy is the largest member of a ragtag collection of some 54 galaxies, including the Milky Way, called the Local Group. With
a trillion stars twice as many as the Milky Way it shines 25% brighter and can easily be seen with the naked eye from suburban and rural
skies.

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Six examples of quasars photographed with the Hubble. Quasars are distant, brilliant sources of
light, believed to occur when a massive black hole in the center of a galaxy feeds on gas and stars.
As the black hole consumes the material, it emits intense radiation, which is then detected as a
quasar. Lehner and team measured Andromedas halo by studying how its gas affected the light
from 18 different quasars. Credit: NASA/ESA
Think about this for a moment. If the halo extends at least a million light years in our direction, our two galaxies are MUCH closer to touching that
previously thought. Granted, were only talking halo interactions at first, but the two may be mingling molecules even now if our galaxy is similarly
cocooned.
Lehner describes halos as the gaseous atmospheres of galaxies. Despite its enormous size, Andromedas nimbus is virtually invisible. To find and
study the halo, the team sought out quasars, distant star-like objects that radiate tremendous amounts of energy as matter funnels into the
supermassive black holes in their cores. The brightest quasar, 3C273 in Virgo, can be seen in a 6-inch telescope! Their brilliant, pinpoint nature
make them perfect probes.

To detect Andromedas halo, Lehner and team studied how the light of 18 quasars (five shown
here) was absorbed by the galaxys gas. Credit: NASA
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As the light from the quasars travels toward Hubble, the halos gas will absorb some of that light and make the quasar appear a little darker in just a
very small wavelength range, said J. Christopher Howk , associate professor of physics at Notre Dame and co-investigator. By measuring the dip
in brightness, we can tell how much halo gas from M31 there is between us and that quasar.
Astronomers have observed halos around 44 other galaxies but never one as massive as Andromeda where so many quasars are available to clearly
define its extent. The previous 44 were all extremely distant galaxies, with only a single quasar or data point to determine halo size and structure.
Andromedas close and huge with lots of quasars peppering its periphery. The team drew from about five years worth of observations of archived
Hubble data to find many of the 18 objects needed for a good sample.

This illustration shows a stage in the predicted merger between our Milky Way galaxy and the
neighboring Andromeda galaxy, as it will unfold over the next several billion years. In this image,
representing Earths night sky in 3.75 billion years, Andromeda (left) fills the field of view and
begins to distort the Milky Way with tidal pull. Credit: NASA; ESA; Z. Levay and R. van der
Marel, STScI; T. Hallas; and A. Mellinger
The halo is estimated to contain half the mass of the stars in the Andromeda galaxy itself, in the form of a hot, diffuse gas. Simulations suggest that it
formed at the same time as the rest of the galaxy. Although mostly composed of ionized hydrogen naked protons and electrons Andromedas
aura is also rich in heavier elements, probably supplied by supernovae. They erupt within the visible galaxy and violently blow good stuff like iron,
silicon, oxygen and other familiar elements far into space. Over Andromedas lifetime, nearly half of all the heavy elements made by its stars have
been expelled far beyond the galaxys 200,000-light-year-diameter stellar disk.
You might wonder if galactic halos might account for some or much of the still-mysterious dark matter. Probably not. While dark matter still makes
up the bulk of the solid material in the universe, astronomers have been trying to account for the lack of visible matter in galaxies as well. Halos now
seem a likely contributor.
The next clear night you look up to spy Andromeda, know this: Its closer than you think!
For more on the topic, here are links to Lehners paper in the Astrophysical Journal and the Hubble release.

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About Bob King

I'm a long-time amateur astronomer and member of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO). My
observing passions include everything from auroras to Z Cam stars. Every day the universe offers up something both beautiful and
thought-provoking. I also write a daily astronomy blog called Astro Bob.

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thought-provoking. I also write a daily astronomy blog called Astro Bob.

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Dilgin May 15, 2015, 4:09 PM

until I looked at the draft of $7949 , I didnt believe thatmy neighbour was truley earning money part time on their laptop. . there uncle
started doing this 4 less than twenty months and a short time ago cleared the mortgage on their villa and purchased a top of the range BMW .
Get More Infohttp://2.gp/GbUf
Link

Ponce May 16, 2015, 12:48 AM

Go join your neighbor and their Uncle while we discuss the subject in this article @dilgin.
Link

altizar May 15, 2015, 5:36 PM

You might wonder if galactic halos might account for some or much of the still-mysterious dark matter. Probably not.
Actually probably so. Its not just the amount of matter, but also the distance from the center. Dark matter is based on rotational speed. If the
objects are larger than we think they are, theyre going to spin faster than they look like they should. Plus we underestimated the size of our
own galaxy by 60%. Another strike against dark matter since we use our own galaxy as a baseline to estimate other galaxies.
Link

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Bob King May 15, 2015, 5:44 PM

Alizarin,
Im referring only to visible matter in galactic halos. This material is not sufficient to account for dark matters overwhelming presence.
Link

altizar May 15, 2015, 6:02 PM

Ill agree that halos by themselves dont account for enough matter to disallow for dark matter.
However, since dark matter was introduced as a possible explanation Ive never accepted it. Just on the basis of the fact that
you want me to believe that theres an invisible substance so abundant in this universe that it should account for 90% of all
matter, yet we cant detect it, in any fashion except by supposed evidence of its gravity effect. Make a statement like that in any
other field of science, and youll get the return answer that theres obviously something wrong with your baseline assumptions
that are being made.
Link

Bob King May 15, 2015, 8:43 PM

altizar,
While it sounds fantastic, the best minds out there not only have shown that there is dark matter and lots of it but that
it has to exist for galaxies to have formed and gathered into clusters in the first place.
Link

usnmcb10 May 15, 2015, 7:14 PM

Where from my location in Florida (27d 2 38 N 82d 14 10 W) would I look in the night sky to see Andromeda?
Link

Bob King May 15, 2015, 8:42 PM

usnmcb10,
The Andromeda Galaxy is about 20 degrees high in the northeastern sky below and to the right of the W of Cassiopeia just before the
start of morning twilight, so around 3:45 a.m. or so. Not a convenient hour but still definitely visible from your location if you know
where to look.
Link

TerryG May 15, 2015, 10:06 PM

Andromedas aura is also rich in heavier elements, probably supplied by supernovae.
Supernova nucleosynthesis certainly contributes to the observed metal populations. Is this the only source? For example, might not
nucleosynthesis via relativistic jets colliding with the inter-stellar medium around a galaxy also add to the observed metal populations in
Andromedas aura?
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Andromedas aura?
Link

Bob King May 15, 2015, 11:18 PM

TerryG,
I suppose in some galaxies they may contribute to nucleosynthesis, but Im not aware of large relativistic jets in Andromeda similar to
say, M87. I wonder too whether material cast off by red giants as they evolve into white dwarfs might not also make a contribution to
heavy elements in the interstellar medium that might ultimately get blown into the halo.
Link

UFOsMOTHER May 15, 2015, 10:36 PM

Bob there are Many other great minds on this Earth that do Not Believe in Dark Matter I believe that all the (so called) Missing Mass is
inside all the Massive Black holes in the centre of all the Galaxies and we are almost ready to Prove this once and for allAmen
Link

TerryG May 15, 2015, 10:59 PM

Adding hidden mass to the inside of a galaxy would exacerbate the Galaxy rotation curves issues that are solved by the prediction of
Dark Matter residing in an outer galactic halo.
Its fine to have a new theory, so long as it out-perform the current theory.
[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/M33_rotation_curve_HI.gif/630pxM33_rotation_curve_HI.gif[/img]
Rotation curve of a typical spiral galaxy: predicted (A) and observed (B). Dark matter can explain the flat appearance of the velocity
curve out to a large radius.
Link

UFOsMOTHER May 16, 2015, 7:49 AM

TerryG , Think about this when a Super Super Super Black Hole eats away All its surrounding Galaxy there is only a Black
Hole left therefore you cant see it and these hidden Black Holes distributed (Between known Galaxies) Stabalise the Known
Cosmos so there is (NO NEED FOR DARK MATTER) but I may be the only one that knows or believes this
and until
proven otherwise is as valid as the rest of the guesswork out there
Link

Bob King May 15, 2015, 11:21 PM

UFOs,
Im sure youre correct that there are. Im trying to present what for now is the best if imperfect explanation for all the extra mass we
see. Even Fritz Zwicky considered dark matter a possibility as long ago as the 1930s. I agree that its unsatisfying, but thats only
because were at the cusp of understanding its nature.
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Link

TedH May 16, 2015, 11:06 AM

I believe in Dark Matter. The numbers show us there is something out there creating the effects we see / observe. Ok, I also dont
like the fact not knowing WHAT creates these effects not being able to see them, explore them but for starters we gave it a
name: Dark Matter and, even more weirder Dark Energy. The child has a name despite the fact we know nothing about it but
its presence / being out there. somewhere Hallo. haaaaallooooooo???
Link

Ponce May 16, 2015, 12:56 AM

Space has enough space for all matter- seen or unseen. Much has been learned and proven true. You may note that wha man has gleened is
just scratching the surface of Universal knowledge.
Unseen matter is known to exist but remains unexplainable despite the effects it has on visible matter.
Space dust, like fog, reflects light to the point it distorts the source. Much of what is considered Fact may turn out to be what is
unexpected.
Nevertheless, the more we learn, the better it gets.
Link

romeo May 16, 2015, 4:56 PM

I have a querie. If the BIG CHILL theory is corect, how come Andromeda and Milky Way are on a collision course ? They should run away
one from each other. So this thing (the merge of the galaxyies) has to contradict the big chill theory.
Link

Bob King May 16, 2015, 7:53 PM

Romeo,
Good question. The reason they dont run away from each other is that within the Local Group (which is small scale stuff compared to
the scale of superclusters) individual galaxies have their own motions. The Local Group is a subunit of the Virgo Supercluster and even
larger Laniakea Supercluster that do participate in the overall expansion of the universe.
Link

Olaf May 17, 2015, 2:38 PM

When they are close enough then gravitational forces are bigger then the dark energy expanding forces the objects still gets pulled
towards each other.
There will be a certain distance from an object where the expanding force equals the gravitational force. Any further than that then the
expanding forces are bigger than the gravitational forces.
Link

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UFOsMOTHER May 16, 2015, 5:40 PM

Bob King always gives us Great things to think about and some of the Best Photos I have seen of the Cosmos taken from the ground around
his House and around the USA, We all know and appreciate the effort and for Bobs hard work and I know many of your readers thoroughly
enjoy and look forward to your next topic. Thanks Again Bob your a true Star
Link

Bob King May 16, 2015, 7:53 PM

UFOs,
Youre much too nice. Thank you!
Link

Mich48 May 17, 2015, 11:47 PM

Why cant dark matter just be space dust. It is matter and dark and no one would say that doesnt exist. I dont believe in some new exotic
substance that we cant detect. Also, when Andromeda does fling by maybe we can have a new world that we can hop on before our sun
does us in.
Link

Bob King May 18, 2015, 9:05 AM

Mich48,
I used to wonder the same, but astronomers have accounted for that plus black holes, white dwarfs, brown dwarfs and all kinds of
other things made of normal matter. They still dont add up to anywhere near the amount of mass to account for the rotation curves of
galaxies. The current theory of galaxy cluster formation is also based on dark matter serving as seeding sites for their formation, too.
It seems we cant escape it at least for now.
Link
Next post: Weekly Space Hangout May 15, 2015: Finding, Studying and Visiting Other Worlds!
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