The observable universe contains roughly 2 trillion galaxies, each with billions of stars. That is more stars than grains of sand on every beach on Earth. And this is just the observable portion. The total universe may be vastly larger — possibly infinite — but we will never know, because light from beyond the cosmic horizon will never reach us.

The universe is expanding, and that expansion is accelerating. Driven by dark energy, distant galaxies are receding from us faster over time. Eventually, galaxies beyond our local group will cross the cosmic horizon and disappear from view.