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Hubble and Gaia revisit fate of our galaxy
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By NASA
ESA/Hubble & NASA, C. Murray This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features a sparkling cloudscape from one of the Milky Way’s galactic neighbors, a dwarf galaxy called the Large Magellanic Cloud. Located 160,000 light-years away in the constellations Dorado and Mensa, the Large Magellanic Cloud is the largest of the Milky Way’s many small satellite galaxies.
This view of dusty gas clouds in the Large Magellanic Cloud is possible thanks to Hubble’s cameras, such as the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) that collected the observations for this image. WFC3 holds a variety of filters, and each lets through specific wavelengths, or colors, of light. This image combines observations made with five different filters, including some that capture ultraviolet and infrared light that the human eye cannot see.
The wispy gas clouds in this image resemble brightly colored cotton candy. When viewing such a vividly colored cosmic scene, it is natural to wonder whether the colors are ‘real’. After all, Hubble, with its 7.8-foot-wide (2.4 m) mirror and advanced scientific instruments, doesn’t bear resemblance to a typical camera! When image-processing specialists combine raw filtered data into a multi-colored image like this one, they assign a color to each filter. Visible-light observations typically correspond to the color that the filter allows through. Shorter wavelengths of light such as ultraviolet are usually assigned blue or purple, while longer wavelengths like infrared are typically red.
This color scheme closely represents reality while adding new information from the portions of the electromagnetic spectrum that humans cannot see. However, there are endless possible color combinations that can be employed to achieve an especially aesthetically pleasing or scientifically insightful image.
Learn how Hubble images are taken and processed.
Text credit: ESA/Hubble
Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, C. Murray
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By NASA
X-ray: NASA/CXC/CfA/Stroe, A. et al.; Optical: PanSTARRS; Radio: ASTRON/LOFAR; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk New observations from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes have captured a rare cosmic event: two galaxy clusters have collided and are now poised to head back for another swipe at each other.
Galaxy clusters are some of the largest structures in the Universe. Held together by gravity, they are monster-sized collections of hundreds or thousands of individual galaxies, massive amounts of superheated gas, and invisible dark matter.
The galaxy cluster PSZ2 G181.06+48.47 (PSZ2 G181 for short) is about 2.8 billion light-years from Earth. Previously, radio observations from the LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR), an antenna network in the Netherlands, spotted parentheses-shaped structures on the outside of the system. In this new composite image, X-rays from Chandra (purple) and ESA’s XMM-Newton (blue) have been combined with LOFAR data (red) and an optical image from Pan-STARRs of the stars in the field of view.
These structures are probably shock fronts — similar to those created by jets that have broken the sound barrier — likely caused by disruption of gas from the initial collision about a billion years ago. Since the collision they have continued traveling outwards and are currently separated by about 11 million light-years, the largest separation of these kinds of structures that astronomers have ever seen.
Colliding galaxy clusters PSZ2 G181.06+48.47 (Labeled).X-ray: NASA/CXC/CfA/Stroe, A. et al.; Optical: PanSTARRS; Radio: ASTRON/LOFAR; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk Now, data from NASA’s Chandra and ESA’s XMM-Newton is providing evidence that PSZ2 G181 is poised for another collision. Having a first pass at ramming each other, the two clusters have slowed down and begun heading back toward a second crash.
Astronomers made a detailed study of the X-ray observations of this collision site and found three shock fronts. These are aligned with the axis of the collision, and the researchers think they are early signs of the second, oncoming crash.
The researchers are still trying to determine how much mass each of the colliding clusters contains. Regardless, the total mass of the system is less than others where galaxy clusters have collided. This makes PSZ2 G181 an unusual case of a lower-mass system involved in the rare event of colliding galaxy clusters.
A paper describing these results appears in a recent issue of The Astrophysical Journal (ApJ) and is led by Andra Stroe from the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA) and collaborators. It is part of a series of three papers in ApJ. The second paper is led by Kamlesh Rajpurohit, also of CfA, and the third paper is led by Eunmo Ahn, from Yonsei University in the Republic of Korea.
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the Chandra program. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory’s Chandra X-ray Center controls science operations from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and flight operations from Burlington, Massachusetts.
Read more from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory Learn more about the Chandra X-ray Observatory and its mission here:
https://www.nasa.gov/chandra
https://chandra.si.edu
Visual Description
In this release, a composite image illustrates a dramatic cosmic story unfolding 2.8 billion light years from Earth. Presented both with and without labels, the image details the fallout when two galaxy clusters collide.
At the center of the image are the colliding galaxy clusters, which together are known as PSZ2 G181. This combined cluster somewhat resembles an irregular violet peanut shell, with bulbous ends linked by a tapered middle. Inside each bulbous end are several glowing dots; some of the galaxies within the clusters. The violet peanut shape is tilted at a slight angle, surrounded by a blue haze of X-ray gas.
Far from the bulbous ends, at our upper left and lower right, are two blotchy, thick red lines. These are probably shock fronts, similar to those created by jets that have broken the sound barrier. Bracketing the combined galaxy cluster, these shock fronts were caused by the initial collision about a billion years ago. They are currently separated by 11 million light-years.
New data from the Chandra and XMM-Newton observatories suggests that PSZ2 G181 is poised for another powerful cosmic event. Having already taken one swipe at each other, the two clusters within are once again on a collision course.
News Media Contact
Megan Watzke
Chandra X-ray Center
Cambridge, Mass.
617-496-7998
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Lane Figueroa
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama
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Last Updated Jun 04, 2025 Related Terms
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Article 1 hour ago 5 min read NASA’s Webb Rounds Out Picture of Sombrero Galaxy’s Disk
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Explore Webb Webb News Latest News Latest Images Webb’s Blog Awards X (offsite – login reqd) Instagram (offsite – login reqd) Facebook (offsite- login reqd) Youtube (offsite) Overview About Who is James Webb? Fact Sheet Impacts+Benefits FAQ Science Overview and Goals Early Universe Galaxies Over Time Star Lifecycle Other Worlds Observatory Overview Launch Deployment Orbit Mirrors Sunshield Instrument: NIRCam Instrument: MIRI Instrument: NIRSpec Instrument: FGS/NIRISS Optical Telescope Element Backplane Spacecraft Bus Instrument Module Multimedia About Webb Images Images Videos What is Webb Observing? 3d Webb in 3d Solar System Podcasts Webb Image Sonifications Webb’s First Images Team International Team People Of Webb More For the Media For Scientists For Educators For Fun/Learning 5 Min Read NASA’s Webb Rounds Out Picture of Sombrero Galaxy’s Disk
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s new image of the famous Sombrero galaxy in near-infrared wavelengths shows dust from the outer ring blocking stellar light from the inner portions of the galaxy. Credits:
NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI After capturing an image of the iconic Sombrero galaxy at mid-infrared wavelengths in late 2024, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has now followed up with an observation in the near-infrared. In the newest image, the Sombrero galaxy’s huge bulge, the tightly packed group of stars at the galaxy’s center, is illuminated, while the dust in the outer edges of the disk blocks some stellar light.
Image A: Sombrero Galaxy (NIRCam)
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s new image of the famous Sombrero galaxy in near-infrared wavelengths shows dust from the outer ring blocking stellar light from the inner portions of the galaxy. NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI Studying galaxies like the Sombrero at different wavelengths, including the near-infrared and mid-infrared with Webb, as well as the visible with NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, helps astronomers understand how this complex system of stars, dust, and gas formed and evolved, along with the interplay of that material.
When compared to Hubble’s visible light image, the dust disk doesn’t look as pronounced in the new near-infrared image from Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) instrument. That’s because the longer, redder wavelengths of infrared light emitted by stars slip past dust more easily, so less of that stellar light is blocked. In the mid-infrared image, we actually see that dust glow.
Image B: Sombrero Galaxy (NIRCam/MIRI)
The Sombrero galaxy is split diagonally in this image: near-infrared observations from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope are at the left, and mid-infrared observations from Webb are at the right. NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI The Sombrero galaxy is located about 30 million light-years away from Earth at the edge of the Virgo galaxy cluster, and has a mass equal to about 800 billion Suns. This galaxy sits “edge on” to us, meaning we see it from its side.
Studies have indicated that hiding behind the galaxy’s smooth dust lane and calming glow is a turbulent past. A few oddities discovered over the years have hinted this galaxy was once part of a violent merger with at least one other galaxy.
The Sombrero is home to roughly 2,000 globular clusters, or collections of hundreds of thousands of old stars held together by gravity. Spectroscopic studies have shown the stars within these globular clusters are unexpectedly different from one another.
Stars that form around the same time from the same material should have similar chemical ‘fingerprints’ – for example, the same amounts of elements like oxygen or neon. However, this galaxy’s globular clusters show noticeable variation. A merger of different galaxies over billions of years would explain this difference.
Another piece of evidence supporting this merger theory is the warped appearance of the galaxy’s inner disk.
While our view is classified as “edge on,” we’re actually seeing this nearly edge on. Our view six degrees off the galaxy’s equator means we don’t see it directly from the side, but a little bit from above. From this view, the inner disk appears tilted inward, like the beginning of a funnel, instead of flat.
Video A: Sombrero Galaxy Fade (Visible, Near-Infrared, Mid-Infrared)
This video compares images of the Sombrero galaxy, also known as Messier 104 (M104). The first image shows visible light observed by the Hubble Space Telescope’s Advanced Camera for Surveys. The second is in near-infrared light and shows NASA’s Webb Space Telescope’s look at the galaxy using NIRCam (Near-Infrared Instrument). The final image shows mid-infrared light observed by Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument).
Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI The powerful resolution of Webb’s NIRCam also allows us to resolve individual stars outside of, but not necessarily at the same distance as, the galaxy, some of which appear red. These are called red giants, which are cooler stars, but their large surface area causes them to glow brightly in this image. These red giants also are detected in the mid-infrared, while the smaller, bluer stars in the near-infrared “disappear” in the longer wavelengths.
Also in the NIRCam image, galaxies of diverse shapes and colors are scattered throughout the backdrop of space. The variety of their colors provides astronomers with clues about their characteristics, such as their distance from Earth.
The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).
To learn more about Webb, visit:
https://science.nasa.gov/webb
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Laura Betz – laura.e.betz@nasa.gov
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Hannah Braun – hbraun@stsci.edu
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.
Christine Pulliam – cpulliam@stsci.edu
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.
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Last Updated Jun 02, 2025 Editor Marty McCoy Contact Laura Betz laura.e.betz@nasa.gov Related Terms
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Explore Hubble Hubble Home Overview About Hubble The History of Hubble Hubble Timeline Why Have a Telescope in Space? Hubble by the Numbers At the Museum FAQs Impact & Benefits Hubble’s Impact & Benefits Science Impacts Cultural Impact Technology Benefits Impact on Human Spaceflight Astro Community Impacts Science Hubble Science Science Themes Science Highlights Science Behind Discoveries Hubble’s Partners in Science Universe Uncovered Explore the Night Sky Observatory Hubble Observatory Hubble Design Mission Operations Missions to Hubble Hubble vs Webb Team Hubble Team Career Aspirations Hubble Astronauts Multimedia Images Videos Sonifications Podcasts e-Books Online Activities 3D Hubble Models Lithographs Fact Sheets Posters Hubble on the NASA App Glossary News Hubble News Social Media Media Resources More 35th Anniversary Online Activities 5 Min Read Apocalypse When? Hubble Casts Doubt on Certainty of Galactic Collision
This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image of NGC 520 offers one example of possible encounter scenarios between our Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxy. NGC 520 is the product of a collision between two disk galaxies that started 300 million years ago. Credits:
NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration, and B. Whitmore (STScI) As far back as 1912, astronomers realized that the Andromeda galaxy — then thought to be only a nebula — was headed our way. A century later, astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope were able to measure the sideways motion of Andromeda and found it was so negligible that an eventual head-on collision with the Milky Way seemed almost certain.
A smashup between our own galaxy and Andromeda would trigger a firestorm of star birth, supernovae, and maybe toss our Sun into a different orbit. Simulations had suggested it was as inevitable as, in the words of Benjamin Franklin, “death and taxes.”
But now a new study using data from Hubble and the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Gaia space telescope says “not so fast.” Researchers combining observations from the two space observatories re-examined the long-held prediction of a Milky Way – Andromeda collision, and found it is far less inevitable than astronomers had previously suspected.
“We have the most comprehensive study of this problem today that actually folds in all the observational uncertainties,” said Till Sawala, astronomer at the University of Helsinki in Finland and lead author of the study, which appears today in the journal Nature Astronomy.
His team includes researchers at Durham University, United Kingdom; the University of Toulouse, France; and the University of Western Australia. They found that there is approximately a 50-50 chance of the two galaxies colliding within the next 10 billion years. They based this conclusion on computer simulations using the latest observational data.
These galaxy images illustrate three possible encounter scenarios between our Milky Way and the neighboring Andromeda galaxy. Top left: Galaxies M81 and M82. Top right: NGC 6786, a pair of interacting galaxies. Bottom: NGC 520, two merging galaxies. Science: NASA, ESA, STScI, DSS, Till Sawala (University of Helsinki); Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI) Sawala emphasized that predicting the long-term future of galaxy interactions is highly uncertain, but the new findings challenge the previous consensus and suggest the fate of the Milky Way remains an open question.
“Even using the latest and most precise observational data available, the future of the Local Group of several dozen galaxies is uncertain. Intriguingly, we find an almost equal probability for the widely publicized merger scenario, or, conversely, an alternative one where the Milky Way and Andromeda survive unscathed,” said Sawala.
The collision of the two galaxies had seemed much more likely in 2012, when astronomers Roeland van der Marel and Tony Sohn of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland published a detailed analysis of Hubble observations over a five-to-seven-year period, indicating a direct impact in no more than 5 billion years.
“It’s somewhat ironic that, despite the addition of more precise Hubble data taken in recent years, we are now less certain about the outcome of a potential collision. That’s because of the more complex analysis and because we consider a more complete system. But the only way to get to a new prediction about the eventual fate of the Milky Way will be with even better data,” said Sawala.
100,000 Crash-Dummy Simulations
Astronomers considered 22 different variables that could affect the potential collision between our galaxy and our neighbor, and ran 100,000 simulations called Monte Carlo simulations stretching to 10 billion years into the future.
“Because there are so many variables that each have their errors, that accumulates to rather large uncertainty about the outcome, leading to the conclusion that the chance of a direct collision is only 50% within the next 10 billion years,” said Sawala.
“The Milky Way and Andromeda alone would remain in the same plane as they orbit each other, but this doesn’t mean they need to crash. They could still go past each other,” said Sawala.
Researchers also considered the effects of the orbits of Andromeda’s large satellite galaxy, M33, and a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way called the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC).
“The extra mass of Andromeda’s satellite galaxy M33 pulls the Milky Way a little bit more towards it. However, we also show that the LMC pulls the Milky Way off the orbital plane and away from Andromeda. It doesn’t mean that the LMC will save us from that merger, but it makes it a bit less likely,” said Sawala.
In about half of the simulations, the two main galaxies fly past each other separated by around half a million light-years or less (five times the Milky Way’s diameter). They move outward but then come back and eventually merge in the far future. The gradual decay of the orbit is caused by a process called dynamical friction between the vast dark-matter halos that surround each galaxy at the beginning.
In most of the other cases, the galaxies don’t even come close enough for dynamical friction to work effectively. In this case, the two galaxies can continue their orbital waltz for a very long time.
The new result also still leaves a small chance of around 2% for a head-on collision between the galaxies in only 4 to 5 billion years. Considering that the warming Sun makes Earth uninhabitable in roughly 1 billion years, and the Sun itself will likely burn out in 5 billion years, a collision with Andromeda is the least of our cosmic worries.
The Hubble Space Telescope has been operating for over three decades and continues to make ground-breaking discoveries that shape our fundamental understanding of the universe. Hubble is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency). NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope and mission operations. Lockheed Martin Space, based in Denver, also supports mission operations at Goddard. The Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, conducts Hubble science operations for NASA.
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Milky Way and Andromeda Encounters
This selection of images of external galaxies illustrates three encounter scenarios between our Milky Way and the neighboring Andromeda galaxy. Top left: Galaxies M81 and M82. Top right: NGC 6786, a pair of interacting galaxies. Bottom: NGC 520, two merging galaxies.
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Last Updated Jun 02, 2025 Editor Andrea Gianopoulos Location NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Contact Media Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
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claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
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Space Telescope Science Institute
Baltimore, Maryland
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Explore Hubble Hubble Home Overview About Hubble The History of Hubble Hubble Timeline Why Have a Telescope in Space? Hubble by the Numbers At the Museum FAQs Impact & Benefits Hubble’s Impact & Benefits Science Impacts Cultural Impact Technology Benefits Impact on Human Spaceflight Astro Community Impacts Science Hubble Science Science Themes Science Highlights Science Behind Discoveries Hubble’s Partners in Science Universe Uncovered Explore the Night Sky Observatory Hubble Observatory Hubble Design Mission Operations Missions to Hubble Hubble vs Webb Team Hubble Team Career Aspirations Hubble Astronauts Multimedia Images Videos Sonifications Podcasts e-Books Online Activities 3D Hubble Models Lithographs Fact Sheets Posters Hubble on the NASA App Glossary News Hubble News Social Media Media Resources More 35th Anniversary Online Activities 2 min read
Hubble Spies Paired Pinwheel on Its Own
This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image features the beautiful barred spiral galaxy NGC 3507 ESA/Hubble & NASA, D. Thilker A single member of a galaxy pair takes centerstage in this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image. This beautiful spiral galaxy is NGC 3507, which is situated about 46 million light-years away in the constellation Leo (the Lion). NGC 3507’s classification is a barred spiral because the galaxy’s sweeping spiral arms emerge from the ends of a central bar of stars rather than the central core of the galaxy.
Though pictured solo here, NGC 3507 actually travels the universe with a galactic partner named NGC 3501 that is located outside the frame. While NGC 3507 is a quintessential galactic pinwheel, its partner resembles a streak of quicksilver across the sky. Despite looking completely different, both are spiral galaxies, simply seen from different angles.
For galaxies that are just a few tens of millions of light-years away, like NGC 3507 and NGC 3501, features like spiral arms, dusty gas clouds, and brilliant star clusters are on full display. More distant galaxies appear less detailed. See if you can spot any faraway galaxies in this image: they tend to be orange or yellow and can be anywhere from circular and starlike to narrow and elongated, with hints of spiral arms. Astronomers use instruments called spectrometers to split the light from these distant galaxies to study the nature of these objects in the early universe.
In addition to these far-flung companions, a much nearer object joins NGC 3507. The object is marked by four spikes of light: a star within the Milky Way, a mere 436 light-years away from Earth.
Text Credit: ESA/Hubble
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Last Updated May 30, 2025 Editor Andrea Gianopoulos Location NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Related Terms
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