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The Andromeda Galaxy, also known as M31, is the nearest spiral galaxy to the Milky Way and is on a collision course with our galaxy. Located approximately 2.537 million light-years away in the constellation Andromeda, it is the largest galaxy in the Local Group, which includes the Milky Way, the Triangulum Galaxy, and about 54 other smaller galaxies. Andromeda spans about 220,000 light-years in diameter and contains roughly one trillion stars, significantly more than the Milky Way's estimated 100 to 400 billion stars. Its bright core and extensive spiral arms make it a stunning sight in the night sky, visible to the naked eye from Earth under dark conditions.
Currently, Andromeda and the Milky Way are only about 2.5 million light-years apart, with their extensive halos already touching. It is expected that these two spiral galaxies will merge in about four to five billion years, forming a new elliptical galaxy. However, the dynamics of this collision are influenced by other nearby galaxies, such as the Large Magellanic Cloud and the Triangulum Galaxy (M33), which alters the likelihood of a collision.
Recent studies using computer models of the Local Group indicate that if only the Milky Way and Andromeda are considered, the probability of a collision is about 50 percent. When the Triangulum Galaxy is included, the likelihood increases to two-thirds, as M33 is expected to merge with Andromeda before the major collision, providing additional gravitational pull toward the Milky Way. Conversely, the Large Magellanic Cloud has a distracting effect, reducing the collision probability to about one-third when only these three galaxies are considered. Overall, the future of the Local Group and the fate of the Milky Way and Andromeda remain uncertain, suggesting that the widely accepted scenario of a major collision is not guaranteed.
