The Milky Way, is destined someday to collide with the next-nearest spiral galaxy,
in the direction of the constellation Andromeda. When they collide, our sun will
likely be flung into a new region of galactic space. But when is that someday?
……………………………………………………………….. —EarthSky.org
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When Andromeda and the Milky Way Collide
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the night sky now is both
a starry spray of mother’s milk
and points of light as bright
as your last kiss
in its spray certain densities exist
think of them as knots in space
or mind
in them space (or mind) insists
that nebulae twist and pulses race
in them you may perceive
articulations of another’s face
or of one concealed behind
a veil of starry lace
attitude is key
and so is grace
but when Andromeda
and the Milky way collide things will change
any status quo will not abide
(you can never count on it to stay in place)
so on that day, in terms of hearts,
there could be tears
but you needn’t be concerned for us
since astrophysicists who’ve counted well
tell us this collision will not happen for
four billion years, and that, my love,
is quite a spell
.
Jim Culleny
12/8/14
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