ANDRÔMEDA - A GALÁXIA VINDO EM NOSSA DIREÇÃO

Andromeda, the giant spiral galaxy closest to our galaxy. It stands out in the vastness of space as the most distant object visible to the naked eye, in dark sky nights. Impressive in its shape and details. It houses several smaller satellite galaxies, countless globular agglomerations and an almost incalculable amount of stars in its interior. However, there is a fact that not everyone knows. Although we have been safe for a long time, Andromeda is gradually approaching the Milky Way. In the distant future, the two galaxies will collide, giving rise to a new galactic structure. Welcome to the Astrum channel, your place for astronomy. If you like themes related to the universe, and after watching this content and liking it, consider subscribing here on the channel if you are not subscribed. Although some dozens of smaller galaxies are closer to our galaxy, the so-called satellite galaxies, Andromeda is the largest spiral galaxy closest to us. Excluding the large and small cloud of magallanes, which are visible to the naked eye in the southern hemisphere, the Andromeda galaxy is the brightest and most visible external galaxy in our night sky, being able to be seen to the naked eye in places away from light pollution. And if you have at least one binoculars, you can observe the galaxy in more detail. At a distance of approximately 2.5 million light years and with an apparent magnitude of 3.4, the Andromeda galaxy is the most distant object that we humans can see with the naked eye, having an apparent size in the sky larger than our moon. The Milky Way and Andromeda are the two main galaxies of the local group of galaxies. With Andromeda being the largest and most massive within this group. Our galaxy, the Milky Way, houses an estimated number of just over 100 billion stars, spread over a diameter of about 120,000 light years, against 1 trillion stars in Andromeda, which has an estimated diameter of about 220,000 light years. As already said, the Andromeda galaxy is a distance of 2.5 million light years from us. If it were possible to travel at the speed of light, it would still take 2.5 million years to reach Andromeda. And this, however, from the perspective of those who are on Earth, and not the travelers. To better understand this subject about traveling at the speed of light and its implications, check out the video where the subject is addressed little explored about traveling at the speed of light. I will leave the first link in the description and also in the comment posted below the video. Like the Milky Way, the Andromeda galaxy has satellite galaxies, consisting of more than 20 known dwarf galaxies. The population of dwarf galaxies in Andromeda is very similar to that of the Milky Way, however, they are much more numerous in Andromeda. The most known and most visible satellite galaxies are Messier 32 and Messier 110. Based on current evidence, it seems that Messier 32 had a close encounter with Andromeda in the past. The satellite galaxy may have been a larger galaxy that had its stellar disk torn by Andromeda, suffering a sharp increase in the formation of stars in its central region, which lasted until a relatively recent past. It was also observed that Messier 110 seems to be interacting with the Andromeda galaxy. Astronomers identified a chain of stars highly enriched with metals from the halo of the Andromeda galaxy, suggesting that these stars may have been torn from the satellite galaxies during the interactions. In addition, the Messier 110 galaxy has a dust belt that may indicate recent stellar formation activity or still in progress. Compared to the Milky Way, the Andromeda galaxy seems to be composed predominantly of older stars, with ages greater than 7 billion years. In addition, the estimated luminosity of the Andromeda galaxy is about 25% higher than the luminosity of our own galaxy, the Milky Way. The formation rate of new stars in the Milky Way is considerably higher than in Andromeda. While the Milky Way produces about 3 to 5 solar masses in stars each year, the Andromeda galaxy generates only about one solar mass annually, which indicates that the formation rate of stars in the Milky Way is twice that observed in Andromeda. These differences suggest that the Andromeda galaxy has gone through a significant period of stellar formation in the past, but is currently in a relatively calm state, while the Milky Way is going through a more active period in star formation. There are approximately 460 confirmed globular clusters associated with the Andromeda galaxy. The most massive of these clusters is Maial 2, with a luminosity greater than any other known globular cluster in the entire local group of galaxies. The cluster houses several million stars and is about twice as bright as Omega Centauri, the largest and brightest globular cluster here on the Milky Way. Maial 2 has several stellar populations and a very massive structure for a common globular. As a result, some consider the cluster to be the nucleus remaining of a dwarf galaxy that was consumed by Andromeda in the distant past. Due to the lateral perspective of the Andromeda galaxy, the analysis of its spiral structure is somewhat challenging. Corrected images of this galaxy suggest the presence of an apparently conventional spiral structure, characterized by two continuous arms that extend separately for about 13,000 light-years, and can be traced to a distance of about 1,600 light-years from its nucleus. Studies with the help of the Spitzer Space Telescope showed how the spiral structure of the Andromeda galaxy in the infrared seems to be composed of these two spiral arms, which emerge from a central bar and continue beyond a large ring, as can be seen in the image. The Andromeda galaxy is known for housing a dense and compact stellar cluster right in its center. In 1991, the Hubble Space Telescope was used to obtain images of the internal nucleus of the Andromeda galaxy. This nucleus consists of two high-concentration regions separated by a distance of 4.9 light-years. The brightest concentration, known as P1, is slightly displaced from the center of the galaxy, while the less luminous concentration, known as P2, is located in the royal center of the galaxy, where it houses a large black hole. It was proposed that the observed double nucleus could be explained if P1 were the projection of a star disk in an eccentric orbit around the central black hole. The eccentricity is so great that the stars remain at the farthest point of this orbit, concentrating at this point. It was proposed that such an eccentric disk could have been formed from the result of a previous fusion of black holes, where the release of gravitational waves could have kicked the stars to their current position. The Andromeda galaxy is approaching the Milky Way at about 110 km per second, as indicated by the blue deviation, which is caused by the movement of an object towards the observer. Researchers used the Hubble Space Telescope to measure the positions of the stars in Andromeda in 2002 and 2010 in relation to hundreds of distant deep galaxies. By calculating the average of thousands of stars, they were able to obtain the adequate medium movement with precision, and, therefore, Andromeda will eventually merge with the Milky Way between 4.5 and 5 billion years. Based on current calculations, there is a 50% chance that, in a fused galaxy, the solar system will be swept three times further from the galactic nucleus than its current distance. They also predict a 12% chance that the solar system will be ejected from the new galaxy at some point during the collision. Such an event would have no adverse effect on the system, and the chances of any kind of disturbance in the Sun or on the planets themselves can be remote. Excluding planetary engineering, when the two galaxies collide, the Earth's surface will already be too hot for liquid water to exist, ending all terrestrial life. It is currently estimated that this will occur in about 0.5 to 1.5 billion years, due to the gradual increase in the Sun's luminosity. At the time of the collision, the Sun's luminosity will have increased by 35% or 40%, probably starting an uncontrolled greenhouse effect on the planet at this point. I even have a video here on the channel covering everything about the increase in the Sun and where the new habitable zone will be when our star is a red giant. Check out the link to this video in the description. According to simulations, it is likely that the galactic product of the Andromeda Collision with the Milky Way is a giant elliptical galaxy, but with a center showing less stellar density than current elliptical galaxies. However, it is also possible that the resulting object is a large lenticular galaxy, or a super spiral, depending on the amount of gas remaining in both galaxies. Over the next 150 billion years after this fusion, the remaining galaxies of the local group will also merge into this resulting object of the fusion of the Milky Way and Andromeda, effectively completing its final evolution. If you liked this content, send this video to a friend who likes astronomy and the universe, and help the channel with your like. Thank you very much and see you next time!