Space · #3 biggest of 1,014
How big is the Andromeda galaxy?
211,394 light-years across
The Andromeda galaxy measures 211,394 light-years across. That's about 1.44 trillion Suns lined up end to end.
By the numbers
- In everyday units that's roughly 2 quintillion km — a distance light itself needs about 211,394 years to cross.
- It's about 1.18 sextillion times taller than an average adult (1.7 m).
- Roughly 1.44 trillion Suns could line up across it.
- Walking nonstop, you'd need about 16.5 quadrillion days to travel its length.
- Out of all 1,014 things in this collection, it ranks #3 by size.
Size comparison
How Andromeda galaxy stacks up against things of a similar size. Tap any bar to explore it.
observable Universe
880,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 km
Local Group
95,000,000,000,000,000,000 km
Andromeda galaxy
2,000,000,000,000,000,000 km
Milky Way galaxy
950,000,000,000,000,000 km
Orion Nebula
230,000,000,000,000 km
Crab Nebula
100,000,000,000,000 km
Oort Cloud
15,000,000,000,000 km
Bars use a logarithmic scale so everything fits — real differences are even more extreme!
Fun fact
Standing beside it, an average person (1.7 m tall) would reach only about less than 0.001% of its height.
More in Space
Tip: swipe, use the arrow keys, or scroll past the edge to jump between sizes.