Lead
The Sun has been traveling in the Milky Way at a speed of about 20 kilometers per second for billions of years, yet the Sun has not collided with any other star in the Milky Way.
However, the Sun travels at a very high speed in the Milky Way, so why hasn't the Sun collided with other stars?
What is the reason why the Sun can move at high speed in the Milky Way while avoiding countless other stars without colliding?
1. The huge distance between the stars.
There are many reasons behind the high speed of the sun's motion without colliding, but the main reason is that the distance between the stars in the Milky Way is simply too large.
The distance between the Sun and the galactic center is about 25,000 light-years, and the diameter of the Milky Way is about 100,000 light-years, so the distance between the Sun and the galactic center is only about 1/4 of the diameter of the Milky Way.
In the Milky Way, the distance between the Sun and other stars is even more unimaginable, the Sun is about 25,000 light-years away from the galactic center, and the stars on either side are farther away from the galactic center, so the Sun and the galactic center are still closer, but the distance between the Sun and the stars on both sides is farther than the distance between the Sun and the galactic center.
It is precisely because the distance between the stars is so great that even if the sun is flying in the Milky Way at high speed, the possibility of collision with other stars in such a huge space is very low.
So if there is a star that is very close to the Sun, then there is a high probability that the Sun will collide with that star, and this is not uncommon, but the probability of this happening is very low.
2. The relative motion between stars.
The reason why the distance between stars is so large, and how do they maintain such a huge distance without collision after the formation of stars?
In fact, one of the reasons is the relative motion between the stars, which are not only in motion with each other, but also affected by the gravitational pull of the Milky Way, so the stars do not remain stationary, but are constantly moving.
So when two stars get closer and closer in relative motion, there is a high probability that they will collide, but because of the very fast speed between the stars, this is very rare and does not occur frequently.
In most cases, the relative motion of the stars misses each other, so collisions between stars are very rare in the Milky Way.
3. Interactions between stars.
Far from colliding with other stars in the Milky Way, the Sun has not even been very close.
In fact, the stars do not completely maintain a state of non-collision, but carry out a kind of "contact", or "interaction", between each other.
In the Milky Way, the stars are attracted to each other, so there is a gravitational range between the stars, and only objects within the gravitational force will be attracted by the star.
Therefore, when these stars move with each other, they are likely to be affected by each other's attraction, so that they can interact with each other, and even exchange to a certain extent.
However, because the probability of such interactions is very low, even the occurrence of interacts between stars is very rare, let alone collisions.
At the same time, this interaction only occurs when the stars are kept at a certain distance from each other, so even if the stars interact with each other, there will be no collision.
4. The gravitational field of the Milky Way.
If a star wants to maintain a stable motion in the Milky Way, it must be affected by the gravitational field of the Milky Way in order to ensure its stable motion in the Milky Way.
As for the Sun, it is not very close to the galactic center, but it is not very far away, so the movement of the Sun in the Milky Way is largely affected by the gravitational field of the galactic center.
The galactic center is located in the center of the Milky Way, so the stars at the galactic center are also the most dense places in the Milky Way, and the distance between the sun and the galactic center is not very close, nor is it very far, so the movement of the sun in the galactic galaxy, the gravitational effect, will make it maintain a stable motion in the galactic galaxy.
In order for stars to collide with each other, they must "break through" this stable state of motion in order for a collision to be possible, but this is very rare due to the very high speed between stars.
5. Sparse interstellar space.
In addition to the large distance between stars and the rapid speed of relative motion, another important factor is that the space between stars is very sparse, so even if the probability of collision between stars is very low.
In the Milky Way, stars exist with a very low probability of interstellar, let alone colliding.
This is because after the formation of stars, a large amount of matter will be released outward, thus forming a certain interstellar medium, and these interstellar mediums will greatly affect the interaction between stars, so that the distance between stars becomes more sparse.
So even though the probability of a collision between stars is very low, the probability of a collision between stars is also very low, let alone a collision.
6. Damping effect.
The movement of the Sun in the Milky Way is hindered not only by the gravitational field of the Milky Way, but also by the interstellar medium, and even by the matter released by the stars themselves.
In general, in the Milky Way, the movement of stars will be affected by many external forces, which will gradually reduce the speed of the stars, so that the probability of collision between stars will also decrease.
epilogue
The sun has been moving at high speed in the Milky Way for billions of years, but it has never collided with other stars, which also makes the movement of the sun in the galaxy even more amazing.
However, in the universe, the probability of collisions between stars is very low, but it is not impossible, and there are many other interactions in the universe, such as the interaction between stars and planets, and even the interaction between stars and interstellar clouds.
So it's a miracle that the Sun was able to move at high speed in the Milky Way without colliding with other stars.