NASA's Hubble Shows Milky Way is Destined for Head-On Collision

[sanimoyo]

I doubt the earth will still be around by then

 

[zippy]

Uhm, ya, that's how we all read articles hey

It's easy to fall prey when they are more interested in sensationalizing the article, rather than telling it what it is. I'm referring to other articles that I've read on the matter before this one.

For the layman, when they said galaxies will collide, that's exactly what we expect. If it were explained as it should be, then there wouldn't be any confusion. Common sense says if they say galaxies will collide, then galaxies will collide. Saying "merge" in the headline does not attract the same kind of attention as "collision". Can you blame people for believing what they write even if the source is good?

I'm fairly well versed on the universe and up until now, everything I've read and watched said the galaxies will collide. Hence my initial skepticism.

I'm not a science graduate. I just have an interest in science and astronomy specifically. I'm a layman and I have never had a problem with understanding the context of words. English is a language where the same word has a slightly different meaning in different contexts.

It's been said many times on this forum, but you should never overestimate the science in the mainstream press. look at Nature. Sites like wired.com are better than most, but the most important thing to remember is that editors use sexy words to grab your attention. More often than not, the same article that uses these "confusing" words clarifies it in the detail.

Edit: The OP should have posted a link with the bit he/she cut-and-paste. It wouldn't surprise me that the article clarifies the use of the word "collision".