The closest of the galaxies to the Milky Way lies within the Milky Way itself. The Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy lies around 42 thousand light years from the galactic center, and also it is only 25 thousand light years from the earth. This particular galaxy was first discovered in the year 2003 and that is when the astronomers were able to view some infrared images of the Milky Way.

Using these infra red images the scientists were able to see the gas and the dust that the galactic area was made up of. Canis Major is believed to have a lot of rd colored stars. They shine very brightly and actually stand out in infra red images. That is why this particular galaxy has been named the closest galaxy to the Milky Way, and it is actually a part of the Milky Way itself. The popular belief by the scientists is that Milky Way has become what it is today by eating several other galaxies like the Canis Major and that is what made its size today.

There could be thousands of other such galaxies in the Milky Way and they all seemed to have been sucked in by this huge spherical shape.

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