Exactly how big is the universe? It takes our Sun approximately 225-250 million years to orbit the Milky Way. Ultimately, the Milky Way is about 100,000 light-years in diameter and 1,000 light-years thick. Our solar system is located roughly 26,000-27,000 light-years away from the center of the galaxy. As I ponder the vastness of our galaxy, I'm left wondering: what lies beyond our cosmic neighborhood?