Where is the Milky Way’s sibling now?

Once upon a time there were three siblings who roamed the universe together. Two of their names are still known today: the Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy are still the dominant galaxies of the Local Group. But the third sibling went missing two billion years ago – today, astronomers call it “M32p.” At the time, M32p was the third largest galaxy of the Local Group and twenty times larger than any galaxy that has ever merged with the Milky Way.

As it turns out, Andromeda might know a thing or two about M32p’s fate. Astronomers have found telltale signs in Andromeda’s halo, which is dominated by metal-rich, middle-aged stars. Computer simulations have shown that this would be possible only by a merger with another, very large galaxy. Today, its core is located in Andro-Beta, M32, an elliptical dwarf galaxy that is one of Andromeda’s companions.

In 3.75 billion years, Andromeda and the Milky Way will merge. This is what it might look like from Earth. (Picture: NASA, ESA, Z. Levay and R. van der Marel (STScI) and A. Mellinger)

Today, the compact core of the dwarf galaxy M32 is no longer very impressive (Picture: Tod R. Lauer/NASA)

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BrandonQMorris
Brandon Q. Morris is a physicist and space specialist. He has long been concerned with space issues, both professionally and privately and while he wanted to become an astronaut, he had to stay on Earth for a variety of reasons. He is particularly fascinated by the “what if” and through his books he aims to share compelling hard science fiction stories that could actually happen, and someday may happen. Morris is the author of several best-selling science fiction novels, including The Enceladus Series.

Brandon is a proud member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and of the Mars Society.

In search of the asymmetry of the universe 05/29/2023
Where do the bubbles outside the Milky Way come from? 05/16/2023
Who polluted the globular clusters? 05/13/2023
More life at the first stars? 04/19/2023
A new picture of dark matter 04/12/2023

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