Map of the Universe
The Sun's neighbourhood
A guided tour in 7 stops
1. Pluto
Pluto, a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, was visited by New Horizons in 2015.
Open this stop in the map · Pluto: facts and location
2. Voyager 1
Voyager 1 is in interstellar space, more than 160 AU from the Sun and moving outward at about 17 km/s.
Open this stop in the map · Voyager 1: facts and location
3. Proxima Centauri
Proxima Centauri, the nearest star, has at least one planet in its habitable zone.
Open this stop in the map · Proxima Centauri: facts and location
4. Betelgeuse
Betelgeuse is a red supergiant in Orion that will end as a supernova, probably within the next 100,000 years.
Open this stop in the map · Betelgeuse: facts and location
5. Orion Nebula
The Orion Nebula is the nearest large star-forming region, about 1,300 light-years away and well below the Galactic plane.
Open this stop in the map · Orion Nebula: facts and location
6. Large Magellanic Cloud
The Large Magellanic Cloud is the biggest of the Milky Way's satellite galaxies, 160,000 light-years away.
Open this stop in the map · Large Magellanic Cloud: facts and location
7. Andromeda Galaxy
Andromeda, 2.5 million light-years away, is approaching at about 110 km/s. A 2025 study put the chance of a merger with the Milky Way within 10 billion years at about one in two.
Open this stop in the map · Andromeda Galaxy: facts and location