3.2.6 The Local group
Figure 11 The Local Group, includes over 30 galaxies such as our Milky Way, Andromeda, and the Magellanic Clouds
There are billions of galaxies in our Universe. Most of these are clumped together in groups.
Our Galaxy, The Milky Way, lies within a group of galaxies that are called ‘The Local Group’. The Local Group consists of about 30 galaxies. The three largest are the Andromeda galaxy, the Milky Way galaxy, and Triangulum. The Local Group is part of the much larger Virgo Supercluster of galaxies.
The Milky Way contains the debris of the many smaller galaxies it has encountered and devoured in the past, and it is currently absorbing the Sagittarius dwarf elliptical galaxy.
Help to discover more about galaxies with the Galaxy Zoo project you’ll hear about in the next section.