The Virgo Supercluster

Also known as the Local Supercluster, The Virgo Supercluster is centred 50 million light-years away in the constellation of Virgo. The Sun is a member of the Virgo Supercluster.This cluster of galaxies is itself made from a number of smaller clusters of galaxies.

The Local Group

Part of the Virgo Supercluster, the Local Group encompases a volume of space with a radius of about 3 million light years.

The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) is the largest galaxy in the group.
The Milky Way of which the Sun is a member.
The Large Magellanic Cloud which near to the Milky Way
The Small Magellanic Cloud which is a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way
M33 a spiral galaxy which is a companion to the Andromeda Galaxy
NGC 147 which is a small elliptical galaxy and a satellite of the Andromeda Galaxy
NGC 185 which is a small elliptical galaxy and a satellite of the Andromeda Galaxy
NGC 205 which is a small elliptical galaxy and a satellite of the Andromeda Galaxy
NGC 221 which is a small elliptical galaxy and a satellite of the Andromeda Galaxy

The Maffei Group

In 1968, Paolo Maffei discoverd two galaxies, which are only visible in infrared because of obscuring interstellar dust.

Maffei 1 is four million light years from the Sun. It is not clear if it is the furthest member of the Local Group, or the nearest member of the Maffei Group. It contains about 200 billion stars.
Maffei 2 is a sprial galaxy some 20 million light years from the Sun.

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