posted 02-18-99 12:26 PM ET        

2R(galaxy)=25000[PC]=81,500[LY]
1 [PC] = 3.26 [LY]
http://spacsun.rice.edu/~twg/lism.html

The twin spacecraft Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 were launched by NASA in separate months in the summer of 1977
The prime Voyager mission to Jupiter and Saturn brought Voyager 1 to Jupiter on March 5, 1979, and Saturn on November 12, 1980, followed by Voyager 2 to Jupiter on July 9, 1979, and Saturn on August 25, 1981.
Voyager 2 encountered Uranus on January 24, 1986,
Voyager 2's closest approach to Neptune on August 25, 1989
Voyager 1 is now leaving the solar system at a rate of about 520 million kilometers a year. (0.00006 c)
Voyager 1 is now leaving the solar system at a rate of about 470million kilometers a year. (0.00005 c)
Distance from the Sun (Km) LY
Voyager 1 10,875,000,000 0.00115
Voyager 2 8,505,000,000 0.00090
http://vraptor.jpl.nasa.gov/flteam/weekly-rpts/current.html
http://vraptor.jpl.nasa.gov/voyager/voyager_fs.html

Pioneer 10: the first man-made object to leave the solar system
http://spacelink.nasa.gov/NASA.Projects/Space.Science/Solar.System/Pioneer.10.and.11.Missions/.index.html

http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/jpeg/Gevol4.jpg -Shoemaker-Levy 9's collision with Jupiter by HST

The Andromeda Galaxy is a spiral galaxy some two million light years away, making it the most distant object seen with the naked eye.
it is the nearest SPIRAL galaxy to us
http://dibonsmith.com/m31.htm

closest star is Proxima Centauri distance 4.28 LY
One source, The Facts on File Dictionary, lists the star even closer, at 4.224 LY (1.295 PC).
http://dibonsmith.com/cen_con.htm

Galileo's Distance from Sun: 747531800 km
Galileo's Altitude above Jupiter's Atmosphere: 7973700 km
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/countdown/mclock.html

Small Magellanic Cloud, is our second nearest neighbour in space at a distance of 250,000 LY
http://www.telescope.org/btl/gy5.html

C=299792.458 [Km/sec]
1 LY=365*24*60*60*C=9.4*10^12 Km