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COSMIC COLLISION

A terrifying intergalactic ‘blob’ is on a collision course with humanity’s home galaxy

The gigantic gaseous globule, dubbed Smith's Cloud, is set to smash into the Milky Way according to NASA

A VAST intergalactic space 'blob' is on collision course with our home galaxy, NASA has reported.

The gigantic gaseous globule, dubbed Smith's Cloud, is set to smash into the Milky Way according to the space agency.

There's a Giant Cloud on a Collision Course With the Milky Way
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There's a Giant Cloud on a Collision Course With the Milky WayCredit: NASA

First discovered by astronomer Gail Smith in 1963, the cloud measures a whopping 11,000 light years in length and 2,500 light years across.

The space blob is currently hurtling towards our galaxy at a startling pace of 700,000 miles an hour.

The vast gaseous entity, known as the Smith Cloud could set of an intergalactic firework display when it collides with our galaxy
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The vast gaseous entity, known as the Smith Cloud could set of an intergalactic firework display when it collides with our galaxyCredit: NASA

They now think the blob is in the process of boomeranging back in to where it once belonged.

Experts are predicting an enormous galactic fireworks show when the collision finally occurs, in 30 million years time.

Previously astronomers thought the Smith Cloud was a failed galaxy, completely devoid of stars but the discovery of certain elements found it was born out of the Milky Way itself.

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The spectral cloud formation is made from mostly hydrogen gas but investigations using the Hubble Telescope have revealed that it also seems to contain elements like sulphur.

Scientists think Smith's Cloud may contain enough matter to produce up to 2 million stars the size of our Sun once it crashes back into the galaxy.

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Andrew Fox, team leader of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, explained: “The cloud is an example of how the galaxy is changing with time.

"It’s telling us that the Milky Way is a bubbling, very active place where gas can be thrown out of one part of the disk and then return back down into another.

"Our galaxy is recycling its gas through clouds, the Smith Cloud being one example, and will form stars in different places than before.

"Hubble’s measurements of the Smith Cloud are helping us to visualise how active the disks of galaxies are."

NASA predict the space blob will collide with the Milky Way in around 30 million years time
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NASA predict the space blob will collide with the Milky Way in around 30 million years timeCredit: Getty Images

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