Milky Way
The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy containing hundreds of billions of stars, including our Solar System.
30.66 kpcDiameterWorlds apart
Milky Way vs Andromeda galaxy
What are they, and what does the difference actually look like?
Two things. One honest scale.
Meet the pair
What these two things are
Andromeda galaxy
The Andromeda galaxy, also called M31, is the nearest large spiral galaxy to the Milky Way.
79.72 kpcDiameterAndromeda galaxy has about 2.6 times the diameter of Milky Way.
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Milky Way30.66 kpcDiameter
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Andromeda galaxy79.72 kpcDiameter
Both marked spans share one linear scale. Artwork keeps its proportions; poses and surface detail are illustrative.
Measurements, assumptions & sources +
Milky Way
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.
The marked diameter is calibrated. Unmeasured illustration details are representative.
Andromeda galaxy
The 260,000 light-year extent is NASA’s ultraviolet-view reference. Diameters measured with another wavelength or brightness threshold differ.
The marked diameter is calibrated. Unmeasured illustration details are representative.
Change the comparison
Put something else beside it.
Measurement details
Why these numbers?
The visual compares diameter with diameter. The records below preserve each value’s basis and caveats.
Milky Way
30.66 kpcDiameter · approximate
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.
Andromeda galaxy
79.72 kpcDiameter · approximate
The 260,000 light-year extent is NASA’s ultraviolet-view reference. Diameters measured with another wavelength or brightness threshold differ.
- Comparing
- Diameter ↔ Diameter
- Relative size
- Andromeda galaxy is larger on this measurement by a factor of about 2.6. Andromeda galaxy's selected measurement is approximately 160% greater than Milky Way's.
How to read the visual
The labelled spans and stored measurements determine the scale; unmeasured illustration details do not.
- Milky Way is labelled approximate; treat the displayed value as a comparison anchor rather than false precision.
- Andromeda galaxy is labelled approximate; treat the displayed value as a comparison anchor rather than false precision.
There’s always another scale
Follow your curiosity.
SpaceMilky Way30.66 kpcThe Milky Way is a spiral galaxy containing hundreds of billions of stars, including our Solar System.SpaceAndromeda galaxy79.72 kpcThe Andromeda galaxy, also called M31, is the nearest large spiral galaxy to the Milky Way.
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.
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.SpaceDistance to Andromeda766.5 kpcThis is the distance between the Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxy, our nearest large galactic neighbour.
SpaceLocal Group3.066 MpcThe Local Group is a collection of galaxies that includes the Milky Way, Andromeda, and several smaller galaxies.Side by side
Another point of view.
