How do we know Andromeda is getting closer?

How do we know Andromeda is getting closer?

Things moving away from us have light that is Doppler shifted toward the red end of the spectrum; things moving toward us have light shifted toward the blue. Based on Doppler shifting of its light, Andromeda is speeding toward us at 68 miles per second (110 kilometers per second).

How did Hubble find the distance to the Andromeda galaxy?

Wilson, CA, Hubble took photographs of the galaxy over many days, and discovered several Cepheid variables. By measuring their periods and their apparent brightnesses, he showed for the first time that the Andromeda Galaxy is at a great distance–more than 2 million light years!

How can we find the distance to a nearby galaxy like Andromeda?

To determine the distance to a galaxy one would only need to measure its apparent (angular) size, and use the small angle equation: a = s / d, where a is the measured angular size (in radians!), s is the galaxy’s true size (diameter), and d is the distance to the galaxy.

Are we seeing Andromeda 2.5 million years ago?

The Andromeda galaxy is about 2.5 million light years away, so we see it as it was 2.5 million years ago.

How many years will Andromeda hit us?

The Andromeda galaxy is currently racing toward our Milky Way at a speed of about 70 miles (113 km) per second. With this in mind, our merger will occur five billion years from now.

Can the Earth survive an Andromeda collision?

Andromeda–Milky Way collision The merger will totally alter the night sky over Earth but will likely leave the solar system unharmed, according to NASA.

How far into the past can Hubble see?

The Hubble Space Telescope can see back roughly 1 billion years. On the far right of the timeline is the modern universe at 13.7 billion years old.

How do astronomers measure distances beyond Andromeda?

Astronomers can use what are called surface brightness fluctuations (SBF, for short), along with the color of a galaxy, to calculate how far away it is from earth. Most galaxies measured in this way are millions of light years away.

Can you see Andromeda with naked eyes?

made up of about 1 trillion stars. You can see the Andromeda galaxy with the naked eye on a clear night with no moon, even in places with a little light pollution. It has an apparent magnitude of 3.44.

How long until the Milky Way collides with Andromeda?

Our Milky Way is on a collision course with another spiral galaxy called Andromeda. Today Andromeda is visible as a speck of light in the night sky, but about 5 billion years from now, it will be tangled up with us.

Are there humans in Andromeda Galaxy?

In the Andromeda galaxy, it is generally accepted that humans originated from the Core World of Coruscant, but they have been found present as the dominant species on relatively unknown planets such as Ahch-To and Reylea, though the latter are more imbued with special properties than the rest of the galaxy.

How fast is the Milky Way moving towards Andromeda?

Any life forms still there, though, will be treated to some pretty spectacular cosmic choreography. Currently, Andromeda and the Milky Way are about 2.5 million light-years apart. Fueled by gravity, the two galaxies are hurtling toward one another at 402,000 kilometers per hour.

How long would it take Voyager 1 to reach Andromeda?

… and even if we ignored that – it would need 3.3 billion years for the journey at the current distance.

Which is older Andromeda or Milky Way?

And in terms of the stars present, the Andromeda galaxy’s stars are much older, and its star-formation rate is much lower: only about 20-30% that of the Milky Way.

What is the longest look back time that has ever been observed?

The UDF looks back approximately 13 billion years (approximately between 400 and 800 million years after the Big Bang).

Could you go to the Andromeda galaxy and come back within your lifetime?

To reach M31, the Andromeda galaxy, in a human lifetime would require a velocity of 0.99999 c. Behind the relativistic spacecraft on Earth, millions of years would have passed, but the same crew that departed would reach their destination.

What Andromeda looks like from Earth?

With the naked eye, Andromeda will be extremely faint. But if you have a pair of binoculars, look through them and you’ll see what looks like a cloud. That’s an entire galaxy. While you’re in this part of the sky, you can also use the nearby ‘Great Square of Pegasus’ asterism to test the light population in your area.

Which is bigger Milky Way or Andromeda?

because the Andromeda-Milky Way collision has already begun. The reason the collision is happening a few billion years ahead of schedule is that the Andromeda Galaxy is much bigger than it appears. The galaxy’s bright, starry disk is about 120,000 light years in diameter, making it slightly larger than the Milky Way.

How long until Andromeda merges with the Milky Way?

The night sky could look like this in about 4 billion years, when the Andromeda Galaxy is expected to collide with our own Milky Way.

What will happen when we merge with Andromeda?

Our Milky Way is on a collision course with another spiral galaxy called Andromeda. Today Andromeda is visible as a speck of light in the night sky, but about 5 billion years from now, it will be tangled up with us. Our galaxy’s spiral arms will disappear, and so will our supermassive black hole.

What if Andromeda was closer?

Common sense, if such a thing actually exists, dictates that at a distance of 1.5 million light years the Andromeda Galaxy would certainly appear bigger in the night sky. It would roughly become a 1.1 magnitude brighter. An astronomical magnitude, by the way, is the measurement of a celestial object’s brightness.

How is Andromeda moving towards us if the Universe is expanding?

Answer: The Andromeda and Milky Way galaxies are moving toward each other due to mutual gravitational attraction. This mutual gravity force is stronger than the force which causes the expansion of the Universe on the relatively short distances between Andromeda and the Milky Way.