supradeep - Are you sure?<br /><br />We are about 28,000 light years from the galactic center. Younger stars, called population I stars, are mostly in the galactic plane and disk. Older stars are in the halo - very distant from the galactic center, and in the bulge.<br /><br />Our solar system takes roughly 220 million years to orbit the galactic center, so we will not orbit that many times before perturbation of orbits by the merger with Andromeda - therefore I doubt any change in our orbit before that event will be significant.<br /><br />This is especially true because of the large amount of dark matter which accelerates orbits of solar systems especially beyond 60.000 light years from galactic center.<br /><br />However, we are also in the zone of increasing speed beyond the galactic nucleus fringe. Clearly, the decreasing orbital velocity proportional to distance from the center for solar systems within the nucleus would argue that these solar systems will eventually be sucked in to the center.<br /><br />However, increasing velocities up to our sun's velocity of 230 km per second make it less clear whether we will ultimately remain gravitationally bound.<br /><br />This is an ancient question, btw.:<br /><br />(Job 38:31-33) 31 Can you tie fast the bonds of the Ki´mah constellation, Or can you loosen the very cords of the Ke´sil constellation? 32 Can you bring forth the Maz´za·roth constellation in its appointed time? And as for the Ash constellation alongside its sons, can you conduct them? 33 Have you come to know the statutes of the heavens,Or could you put its authority in the earth?. . .<br /><br />We really need to learn more about the statutes of the heavens before dogmatically asserting an absolute answer to whether the gravitational bonds (and magnetic bonds, etc.) will hold fast or be loosened.<br /><br />Two of the crucial factors are the influence of the halo of dark matter on gravitational bonds in our galaxy and the influence of dark energy on the same gravitat