The Hubble Telescope is one of the (if not THE) best tools ever produced by mankind (IMO). It has really pictorially given to us a good notion of the Universe we are a part of. Yes, the Universe is still way beyond man's comprehension to really know and understand it, but because of Hubble, we can kinda know a great deal more about what is actually out there.
As we watch this brief video of some pieces of the Andromeda Galaxy, we can get a pretty clear understanding of not only what is the general makeup of a galaxy, but also gives us insight into what we don't emphasize - just how infinitesimal we individually and our planet Earth really are!
Of course each of the little dots of light we see in this presentation of Andromeda is a star!! (a few big lights of our own Galaxy stars can also be noted)
Full screen is much better!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udAL48P5NJU
Earth is a mere grain of sand compared to the universe.