Andromeda Galaxy: Our Future Cosmic Collision Partner

The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) is the closest large galaxy to the Milky Way.
It lies about 2.5 million light-years away—visible to the naked eye under dark skies.
Andromeda spans roughly 220,000 light-years, making it larger than the Milky Way.
With over a trillion stars, it is one of the most massive galaxies in our Local Group.
Andromeda and the Milky Way are moving toward each other at about 250,000 miles per hour.
In about 4.5 billion years, the two galaxies will merge into a single giant elliptical.
Despite the collision, individual stars are so far apart that few will actually collide.
The merger will ignite bursts of star formation as gas clouds crash together.
Andromeda is home to a supermassive black hole, much like our own Sagittarius A*.
When the merger is complete, astronomers predict the new galaxy will be nicknamed Milkomeda.