Milky Way may not be the shape we thought - study
Over the years, astronomers have classified galaxies into three main shapes: elliptical, irregular and spiral.
This illustration shows a stage in the predicted merger between our Milky Way galaxy and the neighboring Andromeda galaxy, as it will unfold over the next several billion years. In this image, representing Earth's night sky in 3.75 billion years, Andromeda (left) fills the field of view(photo credit: NASA; ESA; Z. Levay and R. van der Marel, STScI; T. Hallas; and A. Mellinger)Updated: 
