The Evolving Universe

Smithsonian Institution

Our Galactic Neighborhood

-Neigh image

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/STScI

Observers: Margaret Meixner, SAGE Legacy Team

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The Milky Way Galaxy belongs to a cluster of about 30 galaxies called the Local Group. The Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies are the two largest members of this group.

The other members of the Local Group are much smaller galaxies. Many are satellites of either the Milky Way or Andromeda galaxies.

At 160,000 light years away from Earth, the Large Magellanic Cloud is one of the first stops on a trip outside our own galaxy.

  • Distance from Earth: 160,000 light years
  • Telescope: Spitzer
  • Light: Infrared