It turns out that looming collision between our Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies might not happen after all. Astronomers reported Monday that the probability of the two spiral galaxies colliding

The team found only a 2 percent probability that the galaxies will collide in the next five billion years. In slightly over half of the simulated scenarios, Andromeda and the Milky Way experience at least one close encounter before they lose enough orbital energy to collide and merge.

The Milky Way and Andromeda are speeding toward each other, raising the prospect of a galactic merger. A new study suggests less than a 2% chance of collision in the next 5 billion years, increasing to about 50% in 10 billion years.