Catastrophic Galactic Clash Could Drive Solar System Soaring Into Space
A new study directed by astrophysicists at the Durham University, United Kingdom, envisages that the LMC (Large Magellanic Cloud) could strike the Milky Way in time of 2 billion years. The crash could happen much before than the forecasted collision between the Milky Way and Andromeda, another adjacent galaxy, which researchers state will strike our galaxy in 8 billion years.
The tragic confluence with the LMC could rouse the inactive black hole of our galaxy, which would start gulping nearby gas and augment by up to 10 times in size. As it gulps, the now-live black hole would dispose of high-energy radiation and although these cosmic emissions are unlikely to impact life on Earth, the researchers state there’s a small possibility that the primary crash could drive our Solar System plunging into space.
The LMC is the most intense satellite galaxy within the Milky Way and only penetrated our vicinity around 1.5 billion years ago. It positions around 163,000 light years away from the Milky Way. Until lately, the astronomers deemed that it would either revolve around the Milky Way for several billions of years, or, as it travels so rapidly, escape from the gravitational pull of our galaxy.
Nevertheless, recent data signifies that the LMC has almost twofold as much dark matter than earlier considered. The scientists state that as it has a bigger than anticipated mass, the LMC is speedily losing energy and is fated to bump into our galaxy.
Likewise, we acknowledge our own Milky Way has probably blasted up with other galaxies in the past; astronomers now have divulged that one specific blast resulted in a strange characteristic known as the “thick disc.” It took place around 10 billion years ago and was nearly only accountable for the stars within the inner halo—the dome-like formations that lengthen below and above the galactic plane—and the galactic disc’s elevated thickness.