What If: We Lived Closer To The Edge Of The Milky Way Galaxy
This is a question many have proposed, and it’s worth discussing. If we lived closer to the edge of the Milky Way Galaxy, what would happen? We now know most large galaxies have a black hole in the center, most of which have a strong level of gravity and it would likely be too much for us to live closer. Our solar system is about two-thirds away from the center. But what if we were at the Milky Way’s edge? Well, we know most of the metallic elements tend to be closer to us now.
They’d likely not be as present but still around the edge, so life would likely develop roughly the same as it does now. Yet near the edge, planets like Earth can form but gas giants do not tend to exist here. This means our solar system’s gas giants, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn, would not exist. They currently assist us a lot as their gravity sucks in debris and many asteroids that could come for us. Without them, we’ll likely be hit regularly by space debris. The strength of our gravity could also differ and this could even affect how time works, on top of our rotation around our star.