476-lonely-galaxy-dixon – Many billions of years in the future, the Milky Way will be alone in the observable universe, as all the local galaxies merge and the more distant ones recede beyond our ability to detect. A side-by-side comparative astronomical graphic demonstrating the formation or isolation of a "lonely galaxy" via cosmological void dynamics. The left panel shows a deep-field distribution of galaxies with overlay schematic arrows: light blue arrows point inward indicating that they are vistible to a central spiral cluster, while red arrows point outward toward galaxies that are too distant and receding too quickly to be observed from the central galazy. The right panel contrasts this complex environment with a single, highly isolated elliptical or diffuse galaxy glowing in absolute isolation against a pitch-black cosmic void. diagram for Scientific American
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