Define Local Group

Local Group is a term used in astronomy. It refers to the group of about fifty galaxies that includes our own, the Milky Way. The Milky Way has about 400 billion stars and is 120,000 light years across. The Local Group spans ten million light years. Despite this great size the Local Group's gravitational pull makes the Local Group move through space as a unit.

Within the Local Group are about twenty bright galaxies, and thirty galaxies altogether: "the Local Group that contains approximately 20 bright galaxies and 30 galaxies total" (University of Tennessee). Other galaxies in the Local Group include the two Magellenic Clouds, which are the closest to the Milky Way. These can be seen from the Southern Hemisphere of Earth. Two that are visible from the Northern Hemisphere are Andromeda and M33/Triangulum. Of course, the stars of the Milky Way are the easiest to see from Earth. The second link below has some beautiful photos taken from Earth.