| Our solar system: |
 | The distance from Earth to the sun is 93 million miles. This is one Astronomical Unit (AU).
The diameter of our solar system is 80 AUs |
Our nearest neighbors: |
| | Within 10 light years, there are about 30 stars. (One light year is 63,000 AU.) |
Milky Way galaxy: |
| | Our solar system is in the Milky Way Galaxy. The diameter of the Milky Way is 100,000 light years. About one hundred billion stars are contained in our galaxy. |
Local group of galaxies: |
| | The Milky Way is one of about twenty galaxies which make up a local group of galaxies. The local group of galaxies is 4 million light years across. G1, a globular cluster, is the brightest cluster in the Local Group of galaxies. | 
G1—a globular cluster |
Super Cluster of galaxies: |
| | Our local group of galaxies is part of a larger group called the Virgo Super Cluster. The Virgo Super Cluster is 60 million light years across. Clusters often are composed of galaxies and gas, which threads the space between the galaxies. |
Universe diagram |
North of the Milky Way is the " Great Galactic Wall." |
| | The Great Galactic Wall is an enormous organization of galaxies that is at least 500 million light years across. Super Clusters seem to appear at regular intervals about 400 light years apart. Each cluster contains the same density of galaxies. There are at least seven clumps, including the Great Wall to the north, and at least seven clumps to the south. |
| | The universe appears to be organized into many "clumps" like the Great Galactic Wall and into long filaments. Between the clumps and filaments are great voids that appear to be almost depleted of galaxies. The Hubble telescope has demonstrated that, as far out as we can see, galaxies are grouped together with great voids interspersed. The areas that are void are among the largest known structures in the universe; they are hundreds of millions of light years across. The universe seems to be arranged in sheets which surround these voids like the film around a soap bubble. | 
Cluster of galaxies in deep space |
