Closet galaxy to the milky way galaxy?

Answer 1

The nearest known is the very small Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy at 25,000 light years, a 'satellite' galaxy that orbits the Milky Way. This was only discovered in 2003, so there may be an unknown small galaxy closer.

If you want the closest galaxy that is not a Milky Way satellite, that seems to be NGC 185 at just over 2 million light years, though this is in turn a satellite of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31).

Finally, M31 is the nearest galaxy that is anything like the Milky Way, a large spiral with its own satellites. It's about 2.5 million light years away.

Answer 2

The nearest galaxies to the Milky Way are the the two Magellanic Clouds. These are irregular dwarf galaxies, which are members of our Local Group of galaxies and may or may not (we are not sure) be orbiting the Milky Way - (they are seen in the Southern Hemisphere sky). The next nearest large galaxy in out local group is the Andromeda galaxy.

Answer 3

The closest galaxy to the Milky Way is the Andromeda Galaxy, also known as M31. It is located about 2.5 million light-years away from us and is expected to collide with our galaxy in about 4.5 billion years.

Answer 4

the Magellanic Cloud.

Answer 5

I believe it is 42,000 light years away.