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A Cosmic smashup
Topic Started: May 23 2009, 10:27 AM (264 Views)
ngc1514
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Bad enough to see a couple galaxies colliding, here we have 4 CLUSTERS of galaxies playing bumper cars!

The image covers a wide spectral band with the Hubble imaging in the visible light part of the spectrum while the Chandra satellite works in x-rays.

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http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2009/17/image/a/
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Aren't we headed for a cosmic smash up, Milky Way galaxy and Andromeda.
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ngc1514
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Yeah, but I don't think any of us (meaning humankind) will be around to see it! It would be interesting to know what mankind evolves into over the next 3 billion years... assuming we make it to the end of the 21st century.

Galactic collisions are not very dramatic since the stars are far enough apart that the odds of two colliding remain minimal. The fireworks are the sudden bursts of star formation as the huge gas and dust clouds in spiral galaxies mingle and interact.

You can see the huge clusters of hot, young giant stars along the edges of the colliding pair NGC 4038/39 in this Hubble photo.

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If we're around, or even evolved descendants, is the big question.
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ngc1514
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Based on the history of life over the last 3 billion years.... I ain't betting on it. Mammals have only been around for 220 million years or so and look how the class has evolved over that interval - about 6% of the time between now and when we collide with Andromeda. Man's whole evolutionary period - even if we push hominids back 6 million years - is a tiny fraction of those 3 billion years.

The typical lifespan of a mammalian species is about 5 million years (if my memory hasn't failed me completely) so humankind has the opportunity to recycle more than 600 times between now and then.

Sure would like to be able to take a peek and see what's going on that far into the future.
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