Nearest Galaxies to the Earth
The galaxies nearest to the Earth include Andromeda, Segue 1, Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal, and Canis Major Dwarf Galaxies.
Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy
The Canis Major Dwarf galaxy, located about 25,000 light-years from the Solar System, is the nearest galaxy to the Earth and is classified as an irregular galaxy pulled apart by the Milky Way’s gravitational field. It contains about a billion stars, mostly red giants.
Notable Objects in Canis Major
A few notable deep sky objects in Canis Major include NGC 2207 and IC 2163, the colliding galaxies, Messier 41, the open cluster, and NGC 2359, the emission nebula called Thor’s Helmet.
VY Canis Majoris
VY Canis Majoris (VY CMa) is a red supergiant or red hypergiant star located in the constellation Canis Major, with an estimated radius at least 1,420 times that of the Sun.
UY Scuti
UY Scuti is considered the largest star known, approximately 1,700 times as wide as the Sun. It is located around 3,700 light-years away from Earth and is estimated to be around 2.2 billion years old.
Sirius in Canis Major
Sirius, also known as Sirius or alpha Canis Majoris, is the brightest star in the night sky visible to the unaided eye, with an apparent magnitude of -1.46. It is easily identifiable southeast of Tres Marias.
Smallest Galaxy
The smallest galaxy is Segue 2, containing only about 1,000 stars and being bound together by a small clump of dark matter. It orbits the Milky Way, along with several other smaller galaxies gravitationally bound to it.