News Astronomy A dwarf galaxy just might upend the Milky Way’s predicated demise The Large Magellanic Cloud could prevent a smashup between the Milky Way and Andromeda There’s about a 50 percent chance that the Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxy will merge into a single giant galaxy, dubbed Milkomeda, in the next 10 billion years, a new analysis shows. B. Whitmore/STScI, the Hubble Heritage Project, NASA, ESA By Nikk Ogasa 17 hours ago It may come down to a coin toss as to whether the Milky Way collides with the Andromeda Galaxy within 10 billion years. While scientists have previously reported that a convergence was certain, an analysis of the latest data suggests the odds are only about 50 percent, researchers report June 2 in Nature Astronomy. The Milky Way’s largest satellite system — the Large Magellanic Cloud — may be our galaxy’s saving grace, the study shows. Sign up for our newsletter We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.