The aftermath of the Great Collision between our Galaxy and the Large
  Magellanic Cloud
  The Milky Way (MW) offers a uniquely detailed view of galactic structure and
is often regarded as a prototypical spiral galaxy. But recent observations
indicate that the MW is atypical: it has an undersized supermassive black hole
at its centre; it is surrounded by a very low mass, excessively metal-poor
stellar halo; and it has an unusually large nearby satellite galaxy, the Large
Magellanic Cloud (LMC). Here we show that the LMC is on a collision course with
the MW with which it will merge in $2.4^{+1.2}_{-0.8}$ Gyrs (68% confidence
level). This catastrophic and long-overdue event will restore the MW to
normality. Using the EAGLE galaxy formation simulation, we show that, as a
result of the merger, the central supermassive black hole will increase in mass
by up to a factor of 8. The Galactic stellar halo will undergo an equally
impressive transformation, becoming 5 times more massive. The additional stars
will come predominantly from the disrupted LMC, but a sizeable number will be
ejected onto the halo from the stellar disc. The post-merger stellar halo will
have the median metallicity of the LMC, [Fe/H]=-0.5 dex, which is typical of
other galaxies of similar mass to the MW. At the end of this exceptional event,
the MW will become a true benchmark for spiral galaxies, at least temporarily.
