| Milky Way |
100-400 billion |
105,850 |
Barred Spiral |
0 (We're in it!) |
Contains our Solar System |
Sagittarius |
-26.74 |
552 |
Various Ancient Cultures |
Ancient Times |
13.6 |
Main Sequence Stars (G-type) |
| Andromeda (M31) |
~1 trillion |
220,000 |
Spiral |
2.5 million |
Largest galaxy in the Local Group |
Andromeda |
3.4 |
-300 |
Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi |
964 AD |
10 |
O-type and B-type Stars |
| Triangulum (M33) |
~40 billion |
60,000 |
Spiral |
2.7 million |
Third-largest galaxy in the Local Group |
Triangulum |
5.72 |
179 |
Giovanni Battista Hodierna |
1654 |
13.1 |
Main Sequence Stars (M-type) |
| Large Magellanic Cloud |
~30 billion |
14,000 |
Irregular |
163,000 |
Closest galaxy visible to the naked eye |
Dorado |
0.9 |
278 |
Ferdinand Magellan's Crew |
1521 |
13 |
Red Giants and Blue Supergiants |
| Small Magellanic Cloud |
~3 billion |
18,900 |
Irregular |
200,000 |
Irregular dwarf galaxy |
Tucana |
2.7 |
158 |
Ferdinand Magellan's Crew |
1521 |
10 |
Red Giants |
| Whirlpool (M51) |
~100 billion |
87,000 |
Spiral |
31 million |
Interacting galaxy pair |
Canes Venatici |
8.4 |
463 |
Charles Messier |
1773 |
10 |
Blue Supergiants |
| Sombrero (M104) |
~800 billion |
50,000 |
Elliptical/Spiral |
29 million |
Features a bright nucleus and large central bulge |
Virgo |
8.98 |
1024 |
Pierre Méchain |
1781 |
13 |
Older Main Sequence Stars |
| Pinwheel (M101) |
~1 trillion |
170,000 |
Spiral |
21 million |
Has an asymmetrical structure |
Ursa Major |
7.86 |
241 |
Pierre Méchain |
1781 |
15 |
Red Giants |
| Centaurus A (NGC 5128) |
~100 billion |
97,000 |
Peculiar |
12 million |
Peculiar galaxy with strong radio emissions |
Centaurus |
6.84 |
552 |
James Dunlop |
1826 |
13 |
Active Star-forming Regions |
| Sculptor (NGC 253) |
~10 billion |
90,000 |
Spiral |
11.4 million |
The brightest member of the Sculptor group of galaxies |
Sculptor |
8.0 |
234 |
Caroline Herschel |
1783 |
12 |
Blue Giants |