What is the nearest galaxy to earth?

• Milky Way Galaxy - Our Galaxy
• Omega Centauri - former galaxy - 0.0183 million light years away
• Canis Major Dwarf - 0.025 million light years away
• Virgo Stellar Stream - 0.03 million light years away
• Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy - 0.81 million light years away
• Large Magellanic Cloud - 0.163 million light years away
• Andromeda Galaxy - Largest - 2.5 million miles away.

The Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy orbits the Milky Way at 42,000 light years from the galactic center. The Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy orbits at 50,000 light years. The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds are also very close to the Milky Way, but there is some debate over whether they are "orbiting" the larger galaxy. However, orbiting or not, they are still considered "satellites" of the Milky Way. All of these galaxies are very small compared to the Milky Way and most are irregular in shape, all of them lacking the spiral structure normally associated with a well-organized galaxy. The Phoenix Dwarf Galaxy is 1.44 million light years from the center of the Milky Way, and NGC 6822 (aka Barnard's Galaxy) is 1.6 million light years away.

See related link for more information.