Collision Course

We're all headed for a gigantic collision....in a few billion years.

The view from Earth as the collision begins to happen

It's true. It's pretty much an accepted prediction that about 4 billion years from now (Earth itself formed 4.5 billion years ago) our Milky Way Galaxy is about to collide with one of our nearest neighbors; the Andromeda Galaxy. 

As horrible as it sounds and despite the fact that each galaxy containing billions of stars, the scale is so large that the stars are way too far apart to actually collide with each other. 

Expected views from Earth as the collision takes place..really really slowly (3 billion years)

But that doesn't mean there won't be drastic changes for us on Earth...(if we're actually around).

1) Our Solar system will likely get re-located some where further away from the center and this will likely change what the sky looks like

2) The collision itself will take about 3 billion years to complete

3) As the Andromeda Galaxy approaches closer and closer, about 3.75 billion years from now it will fill the sky much like the first image in the posting

4) Once the collision begins the sky will be filled with bright new star formation

It's bound to be an incredible light show that will alter human behaviour. Except here's the part I didn't tell you, 

Humans are likely not going to be around to catch it. Find our more in the upcoming Part 2 of this post.

What is the Milky Way?

What is the Milk way?*

To some it's an excellent chocolate bar that tastes a lot like a Mars Bar and/or 3 Musketeers...

To others, it's usually a strip of sparkling stars in the night sky:

And then finally to some others it's the iconic spiraling image of the milky way galaxy:

But what I'm asking is not simply what is the Milky Way? *But rather what and where is the milky way in the context of us? The short answer is..well we're in it.

A few years back, more recently than I'd like to admit, I asked myself a simple question - how can we see the Milky Way when we're supposed to be in it, and if we're in it why does it look nothing like the iconic images of the galaxy we've all seen?

After a little bit of research I suddenly had this profound moment of clarity - I was able to imagine exactly where we were and how/why we saw what we did when we looked up at the night sky.

Turns out, since we're inside the Milky Way, and are looking in, and what we are able to see from earth is the very bright and dense center of the galaxy but not the whole thing. It's like driving to downtown Toronto and only seeing part of the skyline but not all of it... Needless to say, the meaning of the word "scale" took on a whole new level of meaning for me. 

The Milky Way galaxy as we see it from earth is our first major "landmark" in our local area of the Universe. If we were to give someone directions on how to find us it would be sort of like this:

How awe-inspiring is that? 

Enough to make you wonder whether it's worth trying to win every argument, always make your point and do anything to get your way.
Enough to make you realize that there really aren't a lot of us and we're lonely as hell stuck out in one of the Milky Way's outer spiral arms.

In fact, it's enough to warrant a Morgan Freeman narrated "zoom out". And that is the video I will leave you with tonight along with a fun inequality to ponder...

Us < Earth < Solar System < Local Interstellar Cloud < Orion–Cygnus Arm < Milky Way....

Begin.

Begin.

My obsession with the skies began during my childhood in the 1990's. I was around 7 or 8 years old and whenever I would be whisked away on family trips, it would be the drive home during the night that I would most look forward to. The world around me ceased to exist as I gazed at the awe inspiring night sky. 

I spent the majority of the drive sitting back as far as I could, legs crossed, and my head resting on the "rear deck" (don't worry, this is the first time I had the need to name that obscure part of the car).  (Thankfully I suffered no long term injuries)

What was I trying to look at?

This.

Curiosity about the world around me and my existence within it lead me to discover my passion for astronomy. I wanted  to know more about the Universe I lived in and what  my  place and scale within it truly was. 

So... I'd like to begin by asking all of you to watch a YouTube video. 

Recommended Settings: 

• Full screen (connected to your TV is even better)
• HD settings maxed out and music/speakers on

But before you do I need you to bear in mind the following:

• This is not computer generated...at all..not even a bit of it
• This is not from a Video Game, Movie or any other piece of Fiction
• This is absolutely 100% real

Here's the link in case you are on mobile: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FG0fTKAqZ5g

That...is where we all live, that not-so-real and that-must-be-from-a-movie looking wonder is our planet earth as seen from the International Space Station. 

This video is truly a prolific moment in the history of modern civilization. A time-lapse that let's anyone experience, for 2 minutes and 30 seconds, what it would be like to see earth from the outside looking in.

That was a perfect example of what this blog is hopefully going to be about. Future posts will show you both the awesome and terrifying wonders of the universe as I share my obsession with all of you.(I may meander in some different related topics at times)

To end, I will leave you with a quote from Carl Sagan, someone who dedicated much of his life trying to bring astronomy to the mainstream (and succeeded)

We have also arranged things so that almost no one understands science and technology. This is a prescription for disaster. We might get away with it for a while, but sooner or later this combustible mixture of ignorance and power is going to blow up in our faces.- Carl Sagan (1934-1996)

NOTE: Credit for clever title of blog goes to "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams
NOTE: Credit for the not as clever URL landing page title of the blog goes to "Rendezvous with Rama" by  Arthur C. Clarke 
NOTE: Both of the above books are HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!