Colliding Galaxies

[Dectomax]

After seeing an article about it on Yahoo I decided to post it here.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/exclamation-mark-formed-in-space-by-two-colliding-galaxies.html

What get's me is not just how amazing it looks, but is there potentially an intelligent life form there that will be made extinct? Could we also be witnessing the deaths of hundreds of billions of other "creatures". No doubt worlds will collide, gravity will shift and all hell will break lose until it reforms into something new, but in each of these galaxies the chances of "intelligent" life is pretty high ( If you go with the maths ).

So, what do you think?

 

[Drenaje1]

As pretty as the picture is, you mentioning the possibility of how many living organisms are going to die kind of puts a damper on it.

It won't happen all at once, anyway. That thing's going to take millions (well, maybe a few hundred thousand) years to form. Anyway, there's nothing I can do about it but say 'Well, oh darn!' and move on.

 

[Takuanuva]

Two galaxies hundreds of thousands (if not more) of lightyears away collide with each other. We can't do sh*t about it, becuse 1. it's so far away, that you would fly there for a good chunk of an average star's lifetime, and 2. since it's hundreds of thousands of lightyears away, you're seing something that happened hundreds of thousands of years ago.
In other words- ignore it. Or make a gravestone for all the potential lifeforms that could have died. I'm sure they would apreciate your efforts.

 

[Vicarious Reality]

I'm not sure but i think i read that someone estimated that when the Andromeda galaxy hits our galaxy the actual number of stellar collisions would be six.

 

[FalloutJack]

Curious. If the entire universe were spreading from a single point (i.e. the Big Bang Theory), should galactic collision really happen?

 

[Dectomax]

Curious. If the entire universe were spreading from a single point (i.e. the Big Bang Theory), should galactic collision really happen?

But then again, if you had a tub of marbles upside down and lifted, as the balls spread out surely some would collide?

 

[Son of a Mitch]

As pretty as the picture is, you mentioning the possibility of how many living organisms are going to die kind of puts a damper on it.

It won't happen all at once, anyway. That thing's going to take millions (well, maybe a few hundred thousand) years to form. Anyway, there's nothing I can do about it but say 'Well, oh darn!' and move on.

The thing is, it's 450 million light years away, so it's already happened. We're just seeing what it was like 450 million years ago.

As for the aliens? Well, it's not like we can really do anything to stop them, or if we even know that there are any there at all.

 

[Dectomax]

Two galaxies hundreds of thousands (if not more) of lightyears away collide with each other. We can't do sh*t about it, becuse 1. it's so far away, that you would fly there for a good chunk of an average star's lifetime, and 2. since it's hundreds of thousands of lightyears away, you're seing something that happened hundreds of thousands of years ago.
In other words- ignore it. Or make a gravestone for all the potential lifeforms that could have died. I'm sure they would apreciate your efforts.

That's another interesting point, I always find it weird to think that some of the Stars at night might not actually be there anymore.

 

[Nukey]

450 million light years away? Buddy, whatever life was there died long before we even saw this.

 

[Nickolai77]

The second sentence of that article irked me.

"currently happening 450 million light years from Earth in the constellation of Bootes."

It's not "currently" happening, what you see is what happened 450 million years ago! When you look deep into space, your looking back in time.



But yeah, there may have been intelligent life wiped out in that inter-galactic event. Earth itself has had several extinctions were life has nearly been wiped out. Space is a dangerous place, which is why, in order to ensure the long-term survival of humanity, we need to colonise other planets and moons.

 

[Dectomax]

450 million light years away? Buddy, whatever life was there died long before we even saw this.

Indeed, but isn't it strange to think that another civilisation could have been destroyed? Utterly helpless?

 

[Zipa]

For better or worse if there was any life its long dead anyway. It happened 450 million years ago and we are only seeing it now because it takes that long for the light to travel. Still a spectacular thing to be able to see none the less.

 

[Pinkamena]

There's nearly no collisions of stars or planets when two galaxies collide. They're made up of almost only space, very little mass. All the stars are so far away from each other that the chances of any of them colliding is really, really slim.

 

[Nukey]

450 million light years away? Buddy, whatever life was there died long before we even saw this.

Indeed, but isn't it strange to think that another civilisation could have been destroyed? Utterly helpless?

It isn't some much strange as it is somewhat depressing.

 

[FalloutJack]

Curious. If the entire universe were spreading from a single point (i.e. the Big Bang Theory), should galactic collision really happen?

But then again, if you had a tub of marbles upside down and lifted, as the balls spread out surely some would collide?

With marbles, yes, although conditions will never be optimal. I'm afraid it's not quite the same. It's a good thought, but I just don't know.

 

[Dectomax]

Curious. If the entire universe were spreading from a single point (i.e. the Big Bang Theory), should galactic collision really happen?

But then again, if you had a tub of marbles upside down and lifted, as the balls spread out surely some would collide?

With marbles, yes, although conditions will never be optimal. I'm afraid it's not quite the same. It's a good thought, but I just don't know.

I understand - Though it could also be due to mass ( I think? ) if a galaxy is "heavier" would it slow down? Meaning a "lighter" galaxy would catch up and possibly collide?

 

[FalloutJack]

Curious. If the entire universe were spreading from a single point (i.e. the Big Bang Theory), should galactic collision really happen?

But then again, if you had a tub of marbles upside down and lifted, as the balls spread out surely some would collide?

With marbles, yes, although conditions will never be optimal. I'm afraid it's not quite the same. It's a good thought, but I just don't know.

I understand - Though it could also be due to mass ( I think? ) if a galaxy is "heavier" would it slow down? Meaning a "lighter" galaxy would catch up and possibly collide?

Ah, now that line of thinking, I can get my head around. Mass, density, and weight is certainly an important factor in the universe, what with black holes being what you get when all three are taken to the limit. If one were to perceive a galactic whole the same way a human body is the whole of millions of atoms and molecules, then the movement of the 'object' would certainly be determined by what it's made of aside from existing inertial forces.

This ends my overall confusion. You may now return to your galactic exclamation point.