Will the Milky Way hit Andromeda?
The Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies are moving toward each other and will collide in about 4.5 billion years.
Gravity pulls these two massive star systems together at 250,000 miles per hour. They will eventually merge into one giant galaxy, but the stars are so far apart they will likely pass by each other without hitting.
Nerd's Section
The Andromeda Galaxy is currently 2.5 million light-years away from our Milky Way. In 2012, astronomers used the Hubble Space Telescope to measure its movement. They found it is traveling toward us at 110 kilometers per second. This movement is caused by the pull of gravity between the two galaxies and the dark matter around them.The collision will be a slow process that takes billions of years. As the galaxies move through each other, gravity will pull at their edges. This will create long tails made of gas and stars. Eventually, the two spiral shapes will settle into one large elliptical galaxy. Some scientists call this future galaxy Milkomeda.Individual stars are very unlikely to crash into each other. The distance between stars is too large for many direct hits. For example, the closest star to our Sun is about 25 trillion miles away. Our solar system will move to a new spot in the merged galaxy. The Sun and its planets will likely stay together during this change.
Verified Fact
FP-0003600 · Apr 9, 2026