Could Earth Really Be Swallowed Whole? Scientists Uncover Startling Truth and a Potential Escape Plan

You ever catch yourself staring up at the stars, wondering not just if the world’s gonna end, but how and when? Yeah, me too—and trust me, it’s not just your everyday apocalypse chatter. We’ve all heard the usual suspects—climate change, robot overlords, or even Elon Musk dropping his signature gloomy predictions like it’s hot news. But now, some brainiac scientists are wrestling with a cosmic doomsday scenario that’s got our Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxy hurtling towards each other at a blistering 300,000 miles per hour. Sounds like a sci-fi thriller, right? But hold your panic—the real kicker is that this galactic face-off probably won’t happen for another five billion years or so. And by then, Earth might already be sipping a cosmic cocktail of its own demise thanks to our sun’s fiery retirement party. So, while astronomers run thousands of simulations trying to predict this colossal clash, the takeaway might just be: don’t put in your two-week notice on this planet anytime soon—there’s a whole lot of time before the universe throws this ultimate party. Curious about what all this galactic drama means for us earthlings? LEARN MORE.

Although there’s more than enough doom and gloom to go around as it is, people can’t help but wonder when the world’s doomsday will come.

There’s a few different scenarios which have been proposed by experts, while Elon Musk has even thrown his hat into the ring to share his bleak prediction, too.

And now, scientists have put one of these hypotheses about the annihilation of humankind to the test, to see just how likely it really is.

Essentially, the Andromeda galaxy could be on course to collide with its closest neighbour, our beloved Milky Way.

According to NASA, the pair are soaring towards one another at 300,000mph and apparently, this could spell big trouble for our planet.

The Andromeda galaxy (pictured) is the Milky Way’s closest neighbour (Heritage Space/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

What could happen if the galaxies collide?

Boffins have warned that a head-on collision could end life on Earth for good – but don’t panic, as this is all at least five billion years away yet.

Basically, if the Milky Way and Andromeda smash into one another, it would lead to a ‘grand merger between the two behemoths’ and together, they would ‘evolve into a huge elliptical galaxy’, NASA explains.

But what will happen to little old Earth?

Well, as we still have five billion years before this doomsday scenario could unfold, a lot of changes in the solar system will have already taken place by then.

The Sun will likely be nearing the end of its life by this point – and if it burns out and turns into a red giant, it will engulf Earth, making the planet uninhabitable.

Or, as NASA puts it, the world will be ‘reduced to a frigid, lifeless cinder’.

The Sun is predicted to burn out in approximately five billion years – so make the most of it while you can, folks (Getty Stock Image)

Doomsday scenario study

Given the stakes are very high for humans if this collision occurs, some of our best and brightest have decided to find out how likely this scenario actually is.

Researchers from Durham University have now weighed up the probability of Andromeda and the Milky Way bumping into one another and swallowing Earth in the process.

During the study, the team carried out 100,000 simulations of the event to see what varying outcomes there could be – including whether the galaxies could politely pass each other by without making contact.

In two percent of these simulations, the worst did happen, and the pair collided within a period of five billion years.

In about half of the simulations, Andromeda and the Milky Way passed by each other slowly – so slowly, that they both began to spiral around, eventually leading to a merger between them.

But the good news is, these simulations seem to have pushed the timeline back a bit.

They estimated that this scenario could take place within eight to 10 billion years, rather than five billion.

So, the research suggests that the forecasted collision between the two galaxies might not spell the end of the world after all – as it probably won’t be here when the galaxies merge, anyway.

The Milky Way (pictured) could merge with its fellow galaxy if they do collide, but the Earth probably won’t be here to see it anyway (John Moore/Getty Images)

What have the experts said?

Dr Till Sawala, of the University of Helsinki, is the lead author of the interesting study and he explained what the outcome of the research suggests.

“Our results suggest that a collision, even if it happens, might take place after the Earth and the Sun no longer exist,” he told the Daily Mail.

“Even if it happens before that, it’s very unlikely that something would happen to Earth in this case – even when two galaxies collide, collisions between stars are very unlikely.”

Co-author of the research, Professor Carlos Frenk, of Durham University, also added: “The Universe is a dynamic place, constantly evolving.

“We see external galaxies often colliding and merging with other galaxies, sometimes producing the equivalent of cosmic fireworks when gas, driven to the centre of the merger remnant, feeds a central black hole emitting an enormous amount of radiation, before irrevocably falling into the hole.

“Until now we thought this was the fate that awaited our Milky Way galaxy. We now know that there is a very good chance that we may avoid that scary destiny.”

We’ve got another galaxy to thank for helping the planet (hopefully) dodge this bullet, as the pull from the Large Magellanic Cloud could be enough to make sure the Milky Way doesn’t veer too close to Andromeda.

This satellite galaxy might be small, but it’s strong.

The experts said that after incorporating the Large Magellanic Cloud and other neighbours of the galaxies in the simulations, it reassured them that this doomsday scenario isn’t a major concern.