The Andromeda Galaxy and the Milky Way are on course to collide in about 4.5 billion years.

Is it true that the Andromeda Galaxy and the Milky Way are on course to collide in about 4.5 billion years?

Yes. A reference article states the Andromeda–Milky Way collision may occur in about 4.5 billion years, and a Milky Way article gives 4.3 billion years with a hedge; a 2007 simulation says a few billion years. A 2025 peer-reviewed item instead puts the chance at 50/50 within 10 billion years.

Verdict: SUPPORTED · 4 sources for, 1 against · Last checked 3 Oct 2026

The private library was unavailable for some searches in this check. Missing library results are not evidence against the claim.

Andromeda–Milky Way collision. (n.d.). en.wikipedia.org. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andromeda%E2%80%93Milky_Way_collision

Cooper, K. (2025). Andromeda might not collide with the Milky Way after all. doi.org. https://doi.org/10.1088/2058-7058/38/07/10

Cox, T. J. & Loeb, A. (2007). The Collision Between The Milky Way And Andromeda. arxiv.org. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.13048.x

If galaxies are moving away from each other then why are the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxy coming towards each other?. (2014). astronomy.stackexchange.com. https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/1665/if-galaxies-are-moving-away-from-each-other-then-why-are-the-milky-way-and-andro

Milky Way. (n.d.). en.wikipedia.org. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milky_Way