by starnut » Fri Apr 21, 2006 4:48 pm
I'd say the probability of stars colliding during a collision of two galaxies is very low due to the vast distances between stars. For example, the distance between our sun and Alpha Centauri is 4.4 light years, or about 26,000,000,000,000 miles. Compared that with the sun's diameter of 880,000 miles and a Cen's diameter of about 1,000,000 miles. So, plenty of room for another star to pass between them. On the other hand, such close passage could disrupt the orbits of comets lurking in the Oort Cloud or Kuiper Belt, sending them raining into the inner solar system. Much closer, the star could pull the planets out of their orbits!
This doesn't mean, however, such collisions would never happen, especially in the more dense regions like the galactic hub and clusters.
I'd say the probability of stars colliding during a collision of two galaxies is very low due to the vast distances between stars. For example, the distance between our sun and Alpha Centauri is 4.4 light years, or about 26,000,000,000,000 miles. Compared that with the sun's diameter of 880,000 miles and a Cen's diameter of about 1,000,000 miles. So, plenty of room for another star to pass between them. On the other hand, such close passage could disrupt the orbits of comets lurking in the Oort Cloud or Kuiper Belt, sending them raining into the inner solar system. Much closer, the star could pull the planets out of their orbits!
This doesn't mean, however, such collisions would never happen, especially in the more dense regions like the galactic hub and clusters.