It is simply impossible for a person to imagine the actual size of the universe. Not only do we not know how big it is, but it is even difficult for us to imagine how much it can extend.


If we start moving away from our planet, we will understand why this is so. The Earth is a tiny component of our solar system. The solar system consolidates the sun, planets that rotate around the sun, asteroids (smaller planets), and meteors.

Our whole solar system is a little part of another greater system which is named the "galaxy". The galaxy consists of numerous stars, many of which are much bigger than our Sun and have their own solar systems.

So, all the stars that we see in our galaxy and which we call the "Milky Way" are the "suns". The distance between them is measured in light years, not kilometers. In a year, a ray of light covers over 11 000 000 000 000 km. Alpha Centauri - the nearest and brightest star - is located at a reach of more than 46 000 000 000 000 km from us.

But let's imagine the size of our galaxy. It is believed to be 100000 light-years across. This means 100000 times 11 000 000 000 000 km. But our galaxy, in turn, is a small part of another, larger system.

There are probably millions of more galaxies outside the Milky Way. But perhaps they all together form an even more significant system.

This is why it is difficult for us to imagine the size of the universe. Also, scientists believe that the universe is expanding. This means that the distance between two galaxies doubles in several billion years.