Final answer:
The distances ranked from smallest to largest are Earth to moon, Earth to sun, sun to nearest star, and the Milky Way Galaxy to the next nearest galaxy, with the distances significantly increasing from one to the next.
Step-by-step explanation:
To rank the following distances from smallest to largest: Earth to moon, Earth to sun, sun to nearest star, and Milky Way Galaxy to the next nearest galaxy, we consider the provided information along with known astronomical distances.
- Earth to moon: This is the shortest distance among the ones listed. The moon orbits at an average distance of about 384,400 kilometers from Earth.
- Earth to sun: Known as an astronomical unit (AU), this distance averages about 149.6 million kilometers.
- Sun to nearest star (Proxima Centauri): This star is 4.2 light years away, which is equivalent to approximately 40 trillion kilometers.
- Milky Way Galaxy to the next nearest galaxy (Andromeda): The Andromeda Galaxy is approximately 2.5 million light years from the Milky Way, a distance so vast it dwarfs the others mentioned.
Therefore, the correct order from smallest to largest distance is: Earth to moon, Earth to sun, sun to nearest star, Milky Way Galaxy to next nearest galaxy.