Milky Way to inevitably merge with Andromeda Nebula – NASA

According to NASA, the merger of two neighbouring Galaxies, namely the Milky Way, of which the Solar System is a part and the Andromeda Nebula, is inevitable, since the Galaxies are approaching each other at some 400,000 kilometres per hour.

But the Earth will not get destroyed, nor will humanity suffer in the process, if humans still inhabit the Earth by then. NASA officials said this during a news conference on Thursday.

The merger will begin in approximately four billion years from now and is due over in six billion years.

The new galaxy that will emerge as a result will have a different, most likely elliptical form, and will be populated by fewer cosmic bodies than today.

The Six Most Interesting Facts About Space

From the Sun’s superhuman strength to leaving a permanent mark on the Moon, six fascinating facts about space:

The Sun’s Staggering Strength

 

Despite its serene appearance when viewed from Earth, the energy produced from the Sun is so strong that every second its core releases the equivalent of 100 billion nuclear bombs.

The Skies: A Visual History Textbook

The next time you’re cloud watching, ponder this: by studying the skies, you are essentially staring into history. Why? The light you presently enjoy travels from distant stars and galaxies takes hundreds, thousands and sometimes millions of years to reach us.

Bizarre Weather

While Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun, its temperatures can reach a biting -280 degrees Fahrenheit as Mercury lacks the atmospheric pressure necessary to trap heat. Venus, on the other hand, has a thick atmosphere to trap heat and is markedly hotter than Mercury, despite being farther away from the sun.

A Permanent Foot On The Moon

If you are ever lucky or wealthy enough to gallivant to the moon, you can expect your presence to remain much longer than anticipated. As there is no air or wind on the moon, your footprints are likely to last forever (barring a meteoric collision, of course).

A Treasure Hunter’s Dream: The Diamond Star

In 2004, astronomers discovered a star made entirely of diamonds. The crystallized white dwarf measures over 2,400 miles across and is composed of 10 billion trillion trillion carats. Unfortunately for treasure hunters, though, it is also 50 light years from Earth.

Grow By Leaving The Planet

If you consider yourself “vertically challenged,” you should consider becoming an astronaut. The path toward realizing said career is a long one, but since the lack of gravity in space allows for the elongation of the spine, you would grow two inches while floating in the Milky Way.