--- title: "Astronomers: Something Is Warping Our Entire Galaxy" description: "According to a new study using data collected by the ESA, the Milky Way is being warped as it's slowly colliding with a smaller neighboring galaxy." date: "2020-03-03" modified: "2020-03-03" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/astronomers-something-warping-entire-galaxy" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "ESA" - "galaxy" - "milky way" --- # Astronomers: Something Is Warping Our Entire Galaxy ![According to a new study using data collected by the ESA, the Milky Way is being warped as it's slowly colliding with a smaller neighboring galaxy.]() *\Image: CHEN Xiaodian/Victor Tanngermann\* Astronomers have known for years that the edges of the Milky Way warp, ripple and wobble like a bowl of Jello — but nobody knew why. But according to a new study using data collected by the European space agency's star-mapping satellite Gaia, the Milky Way's disc, made up of hundreds of billions of stars, is being warped as it's slowly colliding with a smaller neighboring galaxy. To get to this conclusion, a team of physicists at the Italian National Institute for Astrophysicists in Turin analyzed the way 12 million giant stars move in our Milky Way, as observed by ESA's Gaia space telescope. https://youtu.be/ylM4Gy-6sFM Their research, as detailed in [a paper]() published on Monday in the journal *Nature Astronomy,* suggests that the unique way the edges of our galaxy are being warped is being caused by "a recent or ongoing encounter with a satellite galaxy." "We measured the speed of the warp by comparing the data with our models," lead author Eloisa Poggio of the Turin Astrophysical Observatory, said in a statement. "Based on the obtained velocity, the warp would complete one rotation around the centre of the Milky Way in 600 to 700 million years." That's substantially slower than how long stars, including the Sun, take to make it all the way around the center of the Milky Way. Previous theories have attempted to explain the warp by suggesting that the inner disk of the galaxy is spinning like an inclined spinning top, leaving ripples. This slow rotational speed, however, would refute them, according to the researchers. So which galaxy is actually slowly squashing itself into ours? The astronomers suggest it could be Sagittarius, a dwarf galaxy that orbits the Milky Way, as there's plenty of evidence it's already [slowly being absorbed]() by the Milky Way. **READ MORE:** [Our Galaxy Is Mysteriously Distorting and Nobody Knows Why]() \[*VICE*\] **More on the galaxy:** *[Intense Stellar Activity Is Ripping Apart a Nearby Galaxy]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()