Team: 19
School: Sandia Preparatory
Area of Science: Astrophysics
Interim: Problem definition:
The Milky Way Galaxy and the Andromeda Galaxy are theoretically going to collide in a couple of billion years. This project is researching & simulating the collision of the Andromeda and Milky Way galaxies to understand what locational changes will occur in both bodies. This simulation will also help our group determine if any stars or planets are likely to collide in this merging of galaxies.
Problem solution:
We will simulate this project with python. The program will only contain objects from the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies and not bodies from other satellite galaxies. Since it is infeasible to accurately simulate all the bodies of the Andromeda and Milky Way galaxies, their mass, numbers, and positions will be approximate. The galaxy's centers however will be specific, in mass and location. The galaxies will be simulated starting from the present time, moving forwards in time. Our program will mimic the galaxies converging on one another by calculating the gravitational forces between each object.
Progress to date:
Our group has done much research about many topics concerning our program. According to universetoday.com, our program will be able to calculate the gravitational force between two objects with the equation: F(gravitational force) = (G[gravitatonal constant] x m1[mass of the first object in killograms] x m2[mass of the second object in killograms]) / r(distance between masses in meters). The gravitational constant, in this case, would be G = 6.673×10-11 N m2 kg-2. We have also researched the approximate number of black holes and stars in each galaxy. These objects will be big instigators of gravity. We have learned about the nuclei of both galaxies, the approximate weight of stars and black holes, and the position and speed of both galaxies concerning each other. This data helps the computer know how many objects there are; and their approximate mass and location. Therefore, we can make our program more realistic. Our simulation has two objects in a 2-dimensional space, and we are working right now simulating the forces of gravity between the two. Once we accomplish that, we will progressively add more objects with different masses, sizes, and gravitational forces to the simulation. We will eventually make approximate replicas of both galaxies and simulate their attraction towards each other. We are also planning to meet an astrophysicist online. We hope he will help us organize our ideas about the project simulation.
Our Expected Results:
We expect both galaxies to meld into one due to the gravitational pull of the objects towards each other. The nuclei will eventually merge to create a supermassive black hole.
Sources used for our project so far:
https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2018/11/aa34121-18/aa34121-18.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermassive_black_hole#:~:text=The%20largest%20supermassive%20black%20hSS 433: Two robust determinations fix the mass ratio | Astronomy & Astrophysics (A&A)ole,of%2053.5%20million%20light%2Dyears.
nasa.gov/mission_pages/chandra/multimedia/black-hole-SagittariusA.html-black hole
https://www.universetoday.com/34838/gravitational-constant/
https://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/starsgalaxies/Black_Hole.html#:~:text=A%20typical%20stellar%2Dclass%20of,our%20own%20Milky%20Way%20Galaxy
https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2011MNRAS.414.2446M/abstract
Deep-Sky Objects in Andromeda - (astronomytrek.com)
https://www.space.com/1542Deep-Sky Objects in Andromeda -1-black-holes-facts-formation-discovery-sdcmp.html
Milky Way Houses Up To 100 Million Black Holes, With Big Implications For LIGO (forbes.com)
Andromeda Galaxy - Wikipedia
What's at the Center of the Milky Way? | Live Science
What is Sagittarius A? - Universe Today
Beyond Any Reasonable Doubt: A Supermassive Black Hole Lives in Centre of Our Galaxy - Universe Today
Counting black holes: The cosmic stellar remnant population and implications for LIGO | Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society | Oxford Academic (oup.com)
The Milky Way galaxy houses 100 million black holes | Science News for Students
nasa.gov/mission_pages/chandra/multimedia/black-hole-SagittariusA.html
https://authors.library.caltech.edu/52347/1/1993AJ____106_1436L.pdf
Team Members:
Sponsoring Teacher: Nicholas Aase