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Astronomers Witness Whopper Galaxy Collision
Raver32 writes "A major cosmic pileup involving four large galaxies could give rise to one of the largest galaxies the universe has ever known, scientists say.
Each of the four galaxies is at least the size of the Milky Way, and each is home to billions of stars.
The galaxies will eventually merge into a single, colossal galaxy up to 10 times as massive as our own Milky Way.
"When this merger is complete, this will be one of the biggest galaxies in the universe," said study team member Kenneth Rines of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
The finding, to be detailed in an upcoming issue of Astrophysical Journal Letters, gives scientists their first real glimpse into a galaxy merger involving multiple big galaxies.
"Most of the galaxy mergers we already knew about are like compact cars crashing together," Rines said. "What we have here is like four sand trucks smashing together, flinging sand everywhere.""
"When this merger is complete, this will be one of the biggest galaxies in the universe,"
Kind of like if Walmart, Target, Sears, and the DoD merged?
One wonders what the galactic lawyers will get out of this.
"We are all geniuses when we dream"
- E.M. Cioran
Okay, that's twice as many races for the Arisians and the Eddorians to play the Great Game of Civilisation in.
So a galaxy is not like a series of tubes, it is like a truck? Fascinating insight there.
Nope. Read again, more closely.
Astronomers Witness Whopper Galaxy Collision
The implication is that Burger King intends to merge with Dairy Queen and will be introducing its line of BK burgers at DQ. Honestly.
Four galaxies enter. One galaxy leaves.
...the new-formed galaxy will be named:
BEOWULF!
There was no kaboom! There is supposed to be an earth-shattering kaboom!
Well, as a programmer, the way I see it is that it should be 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 100, so that should *really* blow your mind.
Now, when someone can show me some live footage of two stars crashing into each other and a really big explosion, then I'll be impressed. Something far enough away so I can actually see it all happening, but not so far that it looks like a few grains of sand crashing into each other.
The other thing that keeps me getting excited about this stuff is when something REALLY COOL is going to happen, and then they say. "It will be in the very near future, realativly, in the next 5 million years."
I got more out of the banner ads for self aiming telescopes in the $400-$500 range. I never was good at aiming my old telescope. I could find the moon, but not anything smaller.
Do not meddle in the affairs of sysadmins, for they are subtle, and quick to anger.
Geez, have none of you llamas ever used the simulator found in xscreensaver. As the four galaxies approach each other stars will sling shot off into space, one galaxy stealing a few. End results: a big galaxy, 3 small unstable with less stars galaxies. :P
Astronomers don't usually worry too much about the math, so long as the powers of 10 are good to +/- 10ish, so you're well within bounds.
Next few million years should suffice.
Man who leaps off cliff jumps to conclusion.
Late one night while I was working on my dissertation on polarimetry of active galactic nuclei, I was surprised by Maria, the physics department's delicious young cleaning lady. Her janitorial uniform did little to conceal her large, perky breasts, which were spherical and of uniform density... I'm not sure this is a good idea...
Village idiot in some extremely smart villages.
Jeez, talk about old news. Come on Slashdot, get with the program already.