A light year is 9.5 trillion km, and is the distance light travels in one year. Galaxies vary in size from a few thousand to a million light years in diameter. Spiral galaxies, which number about half of all galaxies, are shaped like a disk, resembling a pinwheel with arms which spiral outward as it rotates. Spiral galaxies contain middle-aged stars along with clouds of dust and gas. The Milky Way Galaxy is a spiral galaxy, and is only one of the uncountable galaxies.
Elliptical galaxies contain older stars and very little dust and gas.
They range in their shape from round to flattened, oval-shaped pancakes. Irregular galaxies have an undefined shape, and are full of young stars, gas, and dust. It wasn't until this century that astronomers understood the nature of the galaxy that surrounds us. All of the stars that you see with just your eyes on any given night belong to the Milky Way Galaxy. Through an amateur astronomer's telescope, most galaxies look like small smudges of light aginst a black background.