Space · #4 biggest of 1,014
How big is the Milky Way galaxy?
100,412 light-years across
The Milky Way galaxy measures 100,412 light-years across. That's about 682 billion Suns lined up end to end.
By the numbers
- In everyday units that's roughly 950 quadrillion km — a distance light itself needs about 100,412 years to cross.
- It's about 559 quintillion times taller than an average adult (1.7 m).
- Roughly 682 billion Suns could line up across it.
- Walking nonstop, you'd need about 7.85 quadrillion days to travel its length.
- Out of all 1,014 things in this collection, it ranks #4 by size.
Size comparison
How Milky Way 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
Solar System
29,000,000,000 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.