How Our Sky Would Look If Andromeda was Brighter

wmd_2008
Here is a picture I took at a dark sky site near were I live.

Nice work wmd. Here is the image from the wiki link below showing what it will look like in 3.75 billion years if you make a time exposure long enough to show both the Milky Way and Andromeda (while compensating for Earth's rotation of course):

Krazysh0t
If it was closer, it would do far more than effect the gravity of Earth.

LIke what? Earth's gravity isn't expected to change significantly.

Oh but wait, there's this, Andromeda–Milky Way collision. So it's actually getting closer every day. Enjoy

Collision is a bit of a misnomer, since not much will really collide (the stars are so far apart that collisions are unlikely, though eventually the black holes will merge. It's more like a gravitational dance that will last several billion years, than a collision.

the chance of even two stars colliding is negligible because of the huge distances between the stars.

If our solar system gets flung out of the galaxy as far as I know the main effect would be we'd no longer see the milky way in our night sky, but probably by this point all the water in all the oceans on Earth would have boiled away as our sun becomes a red giant. As our sun gets less massive that will have more of a gravitational effect on Earth than Andromeda.

reply to post by Arbitrageur


Thanks I thought it would both interest and surprise members when they saw what it would look like.

reply to post by Arbitrageur


Oh I know. I didn't title the wikipedia page, just posting it Though I must say that even though very few collisions will occur. It is likely that many stars (and respective solar systems) from both galaxies' orbits will be affected, some will even be flung out into the far reaches of space.

LIke what? Earth's gravity isn't expected to change significantly.

Sorry that was bad wording on my part. I meant that if the galaxy were to be closer, the gravitational pulls affecting Earth and just about everything else in our galaxy would be significantly affected.

reply to post by Krazysh0t

Right, I wasn't blaming the misnomer on you! Just thought I'd point out to other ATSers what it really means since the word "collision" conjures up a much different mental image for most people than what will actually happen.

Anyone notice how our solar system is at right angles to the galaxy? which causes some people to say that our solar system was once in another smaller galaxy swallowed by the milky way.

reply to post by pikestaff

I tried to do some research on this but it was a while ago so there may be new data, but I found some astronomers saying they hadn't noticed any correlation between the orbital planes of other solar systems, rather the orientations seemed somewhat random. If there's no evidence of a correlation, I wouldn't read anything into the orientation of the plane of our solar system versus the galactic plane, which a few astronomers had said was apparently random.

Maybe by now they have found some kind of correlation so if anyone is aware of this it would be interesting to know, but I wasn't able to find any evidence of that before.

pikestaff
Anyone notice how our solar system is at right angles to the galaxy? which causes some people to say that our solar system was once in another smaller galaxy swallowed by the milky way.

Actually, it's around 67 degrees.

Not a right angle, sorry.

reply to post by wmd_2008


Perfect thank you

wmd_2008

You have just given me the best 4 minutes I have had in a long time. Throughout this 4 minutes I started to reflect on my life, the world we live in and the constant and demanding negativity we all endure on this wonderful planet. For that short 4 minutes I was in harmony once again with the love, respect, passion and beauty of our world, solar system and universe.

Thank you very much

Cheers

Spiro

reply to post by Spiro


Thanks Spiro there are many more videos like that on youtube & vimeo

Here is some info that may interest you about that video.

PHOTOGRAPHER
John Eklund locations include ...
Mt. Shuksan, Crater Lake, Mt. Bachelor, Mount St. Helens, Oregon's Badlands, Painted Hills, Cape Kiwanda, Mt. Hood, Lost lake, and Cannon Beach

He started the project in July 2011 and shot the final scene in August 2012. He took approximately 260,000 images. He used 6.3 TB of hard drive space.

He used the following equipment.

Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 5D Mark III (x2)
Canon 24mm f/1.4 L II
Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 L II
Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 L
F-Stop Tilopa Backpack
Gitzo GT3541LS (x2)
Dynamic Perception Stage Zero Dolly
Dynamic Perception Stage One Dolly

As you can see a LOT of hard work for 4 mins of film.

Dude...dude...that is sweet!

This is truly beautiful.

....and to think that some people actually believe we're the only lifeforms in the Universe. Makes me shake my head.

Andromeda is that smudgen in the sky that you could swear was a smear on your eye. Who knows what that would have altered in our ancestors minds if Andromeda was that clear & bright.

Asynchrony
Andromeda is that smudgen in the sky that you could swear was a smear on your eye. Who knows what that would have altered in our ancestors minds if Andromeda was that clear & bright.

When I saw it for the first time through binoculars (light pollution is too strong here for a naked-eye view), it looked very much like a faint accidental thumb print from someone who has been painting stars with white paint.

No way, absolutely shocking!!!
Thank you very much. I need to find it in the sky so I can make a photo as well.

reply to post by FIFIGI


Well if you are in the Northern Hemisphere down load this.

Stellarium

Search for M31 and you will see were to look.

Asynchrony
Andromeda is that smudgen in the sky that you could swear was a smear on your eye. Who knows what that would have altered in our ancestors minds if Andromeda was that clear & bright.

You are so right! Galaxies would have probably been proposed and visually analyzed thousands of years earlier, and would have been proven during the first few minutes of use - the first light - of the invention of the telescope.

Asynchrony
Andromeda is that smudgen in the sky that you could swear was a smear on your eye. Who knows what that would have altered in our ancestors minds if Andromeda was that clear & bright.

My guess is that Andromeda would of had a totally other name and it would have been perceived like a celestial god like many have done with the sun, moon and stars.

I wonder if it would be possible to create some sort of gazebo with a top window that would enhance the night sky without necessarily changing its colors like night vision does? That would be awesome to gaze at...

www.youcanseethemilkyway.com...

This is why you cannot see all the wonders that ancient people saw.


You don't need expensive tracking, just a good fast lens and good sensitivity sensor. Then use the mathematics of STACKING to increase signal to noise ratio. You can pull out the Running Man nebula, Orion Nebula, Horsehead nebula, Flame nebula et al. with a 50mm lens and a cheap budget camera with as few as 20 shots stacked easy.

kathat
www.youcanseethemilkyway.com...

This is why you cannot see all the wonders that ancient people saw.


You don't need expensive tracking, just a good fast lens and good sensitivity sensor. Then use the mathematics of STACKING to increase signal to noise ratio. You can pull out the Running Man nebula, Orion Nebula, Horsehead nebula, Flame nebula et al. with a 50mm lens and a cheap budget camera with as few as 20 shots stacked easy.

edit on 26-3-2014 by kathat because: (no reason given)

Clicking on your link and staring at the planet like that, night, lights turned, our own planet looks like space, the cities the 'galaxies' and the lamps the 'stars'.