Space factGalaxies
Right now, the Andromeda Galaxy is speeding toward us at 110 km/s (68 miles per second). For years the forecast was a collision in about 4.5 billion years, but the latest Hubble and Gaia data make it roughly a 50-50 chance that the two galaxies merge within the next 10 billion years. If they do, don’t expect an explosion—since galaxies are mostly empty space, stars will pass by each other without many direct collisions. Instead, gravity will stretch and twist them into new shapes, eventually forming one giant galaxy: Milkomeda.
~50%
Chance of a Milky Way-Andromeda merger in 10 billion years