The distance to Andromeda is about 25 times the diameter of the Milky Way. Selected basis: approximate values.
Both rulers start at the same zero and share one linear scale. Artwork keeps its original proportions. A ruler represents the selected distance or a measurement not visible in this view.
766.5 kpc - Distance; approximate.
This is the distance between the Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxy, our nearest large galactic neighbour.
Approximate distance to our large galactic neighbour. This measures separation, not the galaxy’s diameter.
NASA — The galaxy next door30.66 kpc - Diameter; approximate.
The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy containing hundreds of billions of stars, including our Solar System.
A rounded 100,000 light-year span of the stellar disk. Faint stars and the dark-matter halo extend farther; galaxies have no crisp rim.
NASA — Galaxies
There’s always another scale
SpaceDistance to Andromeda766.5 kpcThis is the distance between the Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxy, our nearest large galactic neighbour.
SpaceMilky Way30.66 kpcThe Milky Way is a spiral galaxy containing hundreds of billions of stars, including our Solar System.SpaceEarth–Sun distance1 AUThe Earth–Sun distance, or astronomical unit, is the standard measure of separation between Earth and the Sun used in astronomy.
SpaceObservable universe28.21 GpcThe observable universe is the region from which light or other signals have had time to reach us since the early universe.
SpaceSun1,391,000 kmThe Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System.SpaceDistance to the galactic centre7.972 kpcThis is the distance from the Solar System to the centre of the Milky Way galaxy.SpaceAndromeda galaxy79.72 kpcThe Andromeda galaxy, also called M31, is the nearest large spiral galaxy to the Milky Way.Side by side
Illustrative artwork · not to scale
Illustrative artwork · not to scale
Illustrative artwork · not to scale
Illustrative artwork · not to scaleGot a good eye for scale?