List of nearest galaxies

High school (ages 12+)
Space & Astronomy

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/list-of-nearest-galaxies

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. Who discovered List of nearest galaxies?Nearby dwarf galaxies are still being discovered, indicating an incomplete census
2. What is the dominant structure?The Local Group, a gravitationally bound collection of over 50 galaxies
3. What is the measurement uncertainty?Intergalactic distance measurements are subject to large uncertainties and are composite values
4. What are the nearest galaxies to our Milky Way?They are within about 3.8 megaparsecs, or 12.4 million light‑years, and include the Local Group with more than 50 galaxies, plus nearby groups like M81 and Centaurus A/M83.
5. Why do scientists study nearby galaxies?Because they are close enough to see details, helping us learn how galaxies form, grow, and how the universe expands.

Heliocentric Distance: The distance of an astronomical object measured from the center of the Sun.
Local Group: A galaxy group containing the Milky Way, Andromeda, and about 50 other smaller galaxies.
Extragalactic Astronomy: The branch of astronomy concerned with objects outside our own Milky Way galaxy.
Dwarf Galaxy: A small galaxy with typically billions, rather than hundreds of billions, of stars.