Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Violent Galactic Clash May Solve Cosmic Mystery

Posted by Soulskill on from the right-to-bear-galactic-arms dept.

astroengine writes "The mother of all cosmic collisions has been spotted between two galaxies containing a total of 400 billion stars, igniting the birth of 2,000 new stars per year! This incredible event was first spotted by the recently-retired Herschel infrared space observatory (abstract), a mission managed by the European Space Agency. This violent discovery isn't just awesome to look at, it could also help explain how massive, red elliptical galaxies evolved in the early universe."

9 of 56 comments (clear)

  1. Old Xwindows screen saver. by jellomizer · · Score: 4, Funny

    I had wasted way too many hours mesmerized by that screen saver of galaxies colliding on xwindows.
    I would try to make bets which galaxy would come out on top. The big one or the small one that is tightly bound. Or world they just merge together into a super galaxy, or will they both explode. Sigh my GPA would probably have been a few points higher if it wasn't for that screensaver.

    --
    If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    1. Re:Old Xwindows screen saver. by Jeremiah+Cornelius · · Score: 2, Interesting

      GPA would probably have been a few points higher if it wasn't for that screensaver.

      Yes, or we would have discovered SETI - and you'd have a giant pile of Bitcoin - with alternate uses for all those "wasted" cycles!

      In my day? It was fractint that caused hypnosis. Curse you, Stone Soup Group!

      --
      "Flyin' in just a sweet place,
      Never been known to fail..."
  2. Think of the aliens by Infiniti2000 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I'm curious how many aliens are dying on the planets surrounding the colliding stars?

    1. Re:Think of the aliens by osu-neko · · Score: 4, Informative

      Most likely none. When galaxies "collide", they merge gravitationally, but stars don't run into one another. Thing of how small a star is compared to the vast space between them. The odds of two stars colliding are so small, even when you have literally billions of them heading towards one another, the odds of a collision are extremely remote.

      --
      "Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies."
    2. Re:Think of the aliens by mrsquid0 · · Score: 4, Funny

      All we need to do is wait a while and we will experience this first hand. The Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies are moving towards each other and will collide in about four billion years. Stake out your spot on the roof now because it is going to be quite a show.

      --
      Just because you are paranoid does not mean that no-one is out to get you.
    3. Re:Think of the aliens by mmcxii · · Score: 2

      True but it may not have to be a direct collision. I wonder how close a one solar mass star would have to get to Earth to pull us out of orbit enough to effectively turn Earth into a lifeless planet.

      Does anyone have simulation software that could be used to handle these kinds of questions? Windows/Linux/OSX, it doesn't matter.

    4. Re:Think of the aliens by Tim12s · · Score: 3, Informative

      All you need is something massive to move through the asteroid belt for a number of asteroids to get scattered across our solar system like someone breaking open a game of pool. The net result is that one of those astroids will hit likely hit us or hopefully the moon.

      You'd also be assuming that the moons orbit doesnt change drastically. That may have some fundamental change in forces which might not affect the oceans but it would most likely result in a large number of earthquakes as the system tries to find some new balance between the new orbit and the internal spin of the earth vs the crust.

    5. Re:Think of the aliens by SJHillman · · Score: 2

      It wouldn't need to pull us out of orbit by much. It would likely happen veeerrrrry slowly as the star approached. Even then, we're VERY close to the sun, so it would have to come well inside our solar system to have a really significant effect. There's such a huge number of variables involved, I'm not sure you could make a realistic model with modern computers and mathematics.

    6. Re:Think of the aliens by mmcxii · · Score: 2

      I wouldn't worry about another great bombardment from the asteroid belt. It has a total mass less than 1/10th of 1% of that of the Earth and Ceres makes up a quarter or so of that. We might get dinged a bit but I find it unlikely that something is going to change the orbit of Ceres and send it into the orbital path of the Earth but at the same time not having enough gravitational effect to pull Earth from its own orbit. Much less something being able to strip us of our moon but leaving us unaffected.

      Not to say it couldn't happen but it seems so remote that I wouldn't put any money on it.