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 is less than previously thought,

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.

A collision between our Milky Way galaxy and the neighboring Andromeda galaxy, long considered inevitable, may be in question, astronomers say.