The Universe within 5 million Light Years – The Local Group of Galaxies
The Universe within 5 million Light Years
The Local Group of Galaxies
Number of large galaxies within 5 million light years = 3
Number of stars within 5 million light years =
700 billion
About the Map
The Milky Way is one of three large galaxies belonging to
the group of galaxies called the Local Group which also contains several dozen dwarf
galaxies. Most of these galaxies are depicted on the map, although most dwarf galaxies
are so faint, that there are probably several more waiting to be discovered.
Some of the galaxies in the Local Group
Shown below are four of the galaxies in the Local Group. The
Triangulum galaxy (left) is a spiral galaxy and the third largest galaxy in the local
group, it contains 50 billion stars. NGC 147 (top centre) is a dwarf elliptical
galaxy and IC 10 (top right) is a dwarf irregular galaxy, they both contain tens of
millions of stars. NGC 3109 (bottom right) is another dwarf irregular galaxy of
several hundred million stars and it is also the largest member of a small sub-group
of galaxies within the Local Group.
