what is the closest galaxy to the milky way

The closest galaxy to the Milky Way is the Andromeda Galaxy, which is about 2.5 million light-years away from us. Although several dozen minor galaxies lie closer to the Milky Way, the Andromeda Galaxy is the closest large spiral galaxy to ours. It is a member of our Local Group of galaxies, which also contains the Triangulum galaxy and about 30 other smaller galaxies. The Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy is the closest known galaxy to us, but it is a dwarf galaxy and not a complete galaxy like the Andromeda Galaxy. The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds were once thought to be the closest galaxies to ours, but they are not complete galaxies either.