Not spacecraft
These are gravitationally associated dwarf galaxies, not satellites launched by humans.
Milky Way satellites
Dwarf galaxies around our galaxy.
This chart separates galactic satellites from Earth satellites: these are companion galaxies and stellar systems measured in thousands of light-years, not spacecraft.
Drag to rotate. Wheel to zoom. Chart labels show approximate distance scale.
Satellite galaxies
Companions of the Milky Way
Distances are approximate and should be used for educational scale comparison.
| Name | Type | Distance | Distance | Approx. diameter | Study note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Large Magellanic Cloud | Irregular dwarf galaxy | 163 thousand light-years | 163,000 light-years | 14.0 thousand light-years | Largest bright satellite galaxy of the Milky Way and an active star-forming laboratory. |
| Small Magellanic Cloud | Irregular dwarf galaxy | 200 thousand light-years | 200,000 light-years | 7.0 thousand light-years | Gas-rich companion interacting with the Milky Way and the Large Magellanic Cloud. |
| Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal | Dwarf spheroidal | 70 thousand light-years | 70,000 light-years | 10.0 thousand light-years | Disrupting satellite whose stellar streams wrap around the Milky Way. |
| Fornax Dwarf | Dwarf spheroidal | 460 thousand light-years | 460,000 light-years | 6.0 thousand light-years | One of the brighter classical dwarf satellites with multiple globular clusters. |
| Sculptor Dwarf | Dwarf spheroidal | 290 thousand light-years | 290,000 light-years | 3.0 thousand light-years | Classical low-metallicity satellite used for dark-matter and chemical-evolution studies. |
| Draco Dwarf | Dwarf spheroidal | 260 thousand light-years | 260,000 light-years | 2.0 thousand light-years | Dark-matter dominated Milky Way satellite in the northern sky. |
| Ursa Minor Dwarf | Dwarf spheroidal | 225 thousand light-years | 225,000 light-years | 2.0 thousand light-years | Classical dwarf spheroidal with old stellar populations. |
| Carina Dwarf | Dwarf spheroidal | 330 thousand light-years | 330,000 light-years | 2.0 thousand light-years | Satellite with episodic star formation history. |
| Sextans Dwarf | Dwarf spheroidal | 290 thousand light-years | 290,000 light-years | 3.0 thousand light-years | Diffuse classical dwarf satellite. |
| Leo I | Dwarf spheroidal | 820 thousand light-years | 820,000 light-years | 3.0 thousand light-years | Distant classical satellite useful for constraining Milky Way mass. |
| Leo II | Dwarf spheroidal | 690 thousand light-years | 690,000 light-years | 2.0 thousand light-years | Distant satellite with old and intermediate-age stars. |
| Bootes I | Ultra-faint dwarf | 197 thousand light-years | 197,000 light-years | 0.8 thousand light-years | Ultra-faint satellite discovered in wide-field survey data. |
| Coma Berenices Dwarf | Ultra-faint dwarf | 144 thousand light-years | 144,000 light-years | 0.5 thousand light-years | Very low-luminosity satellite with dark-matter dominated dynamics. |
| Hercules Dwarf | Ultra-faint dwarf | 430 thousand light-years | 430,000 light-years | 1.0 thousand light-years | Elongated ultra-faint dwarf that may be tidally disturbed. |
| Reticulum II | Ultra-faint dwarf | 98 thousand light-years | 98,000 light-years | 0.3 thousand light-years | Nearby ultra-faint dwarf known for r-process enhanced stars. |
| Tucana II | Ultra-faint dwarf | 163 thousand light-years | 163,000 light-years | 0.5 thousand light-years | Ancient low-mass satellite used to study early chemical enrichment. |
Interpretation
What the chart means
Tidal streams
Several satellites are disrupted by Milky Way gravity, leaving stellar streams that trace the galactic halo.
Dark matter
Ultra-faint dwarfs are important because their visible stars move inside much larger dark-matter dominated systems.
Mathematical model
Astronomical scale-map model
Galaxy, void, and universe-scale charts use explicit distance conversions and scale mappings. They are schematic maps whose coordinates come from light-year, parsec, AU, or kilometer values.
Unit conversion
\[1\,\mathrm{ly}=63{,}241.077\,\mathrm{AU}=9.4607\times 10^{12}\,\mathrm{km}\]
Distances shown in multiple units are converted from fixed constants, so scale labels are mathematically traceable.
Display scale
\[x_{\mathrm{display}}=s\log\!\left(1+\frac{d}{d_0}\right)\]
Very large ranges may use a logarithmic or compressed map so nearby and distant objects can coexist. The compression is stated rather than hidden.
Volume approximation
\[V=\frac{4\pi R^3}{3}\]
Void and shell comparisons use spherical approximations where appropriate. The page labels this as an approximation, not an observed boundary mesh.
Verification standard: the rendered object must be reproducible from stated equations, catalog parameters, or explicit geometric transforms. Visual reference images may inform presentation only; they are not the source of orbital positions, field vectors, accretion-disk gradients, timing, or engineering layout.
Limitations: browser scenes may use bounded scale, compressed distances, simplified two-body dynamics, schematic transfer curves, or educational approximations where full numerical ephemerides, CFD, finite-element models, or general-relativistic ray tracing are outside the page scope. Those simplifications are part of the model contract, not hidden image-based construction.