The small galaxy cluster that contains our Milky Way, along with the Andromeda Galaxy, Triangulum Galaxy, and over 80 smaller dwarf galaxies. This gravitationally bound collection spans about 10 million light-years across.
The term 'local group' was coined by American astronomer Edwin Hubble in 1936 to describe the nearby collection of galaxies. 'Local' simply refers to our immediate cosmic neighborhood, while 'group' indicates a smaller collection than a full galaxy cluster.
The Local Group is destined for a dramatic future - in about 4.5 billion years, the Milky Way and Andromeda will collide and merge into a single giant galaxy that astronomers have already nicknamed 'Milkomeda'! Despite containing over 80 galaxies, the Local Group is actually considered a small galaxy group in cosmic terms.
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