Milky Way-Andromeda collision as seen from Earth

This will be the view of our night sky over the course of the next 6 billion years. Starting at the top left with the current view from Earth you can see the Andromeda Galaxy approaching, merging with the Milky Way and finally creating a new, huge elliptical galaxy. The views are (starting from the top left images): present, in 2, 3.75, 3.85, 3.9, 4, 5.1 and 7 billion years from now. During the first phase of the collision intense star formation will take place when the gas and dust of the two galaxies collide. The sky will then be covered with red emission nebula and bright star clusters. You can also watch a video showing the results of a simulation of the collision.

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